How can I turn all my problems and worries over to God? What a great question! For starters, read What does Adonai mean. Here are some lines from one of my favorite hymns that bring me comfort when my life feels upside down. Even when I feel invisible and like God can’t love me. Hosanna to the King. We are so greatly loved.
What a Friend We have in Jesus
What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer!
From the Hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” by Joseph M. Scriven, 1855
Is it really that easy? It’s that easy objectively, but it’s not easy for most people to feel its reality.
Job’s Troubles
The Bible person Job was a God-fearing man who became prosperous and had a large family. Then, suddenly, he suffered calamity after calamity. Formerly, God had protected Job and kept any evil from him. But God no longer protected him, so he lost everything and wished to die.
Job hadn’t changed his behavior, yet his friends insisted he must have offended God in some way, or God wouldn’t have brought these tragedies. His children all died, he became destitute, and,
“(Job had) severe sores from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. So he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes” (Job 2:8).
No Comfort
Job’s friends came to ‘comfort’ him, but their comfort soon added to his suffering. Job kept asserting his innocence, but his ‘friends’ kept insisting he must have sinned. They mistakenly believed what many people still believe: that innocent people don’t suffer.
Job’s Complaint
Job’s frustration led him to complain to God. He blamed God for his suffering and asked God to look away from him for a while and turn His attention elsewhere. He knew God was the Supreme, the Most High God, and he knew God created him from the dust, and to dust he’d return. How could he plead his case with Someone so beyond him?
No Mediator
He hadn’t sinned, and yet the philosophies of this world and his circumstances all accused him. And his defense fell on deaf ears. He longed for someone who could present his case before his Maker. But that Person didn’t yet exist. Yet Job cried out, begging for that mediator:
“For He (God) is not a man as I am, that I should answer Him, and we should come together in judgment. Nor is there a mediator between us, who may lay his hand upon us both” (Job 9:32-33).
God Sent Jesus
Job lived a couple of thousand years before Jesus was born. That’s when the Son of God became man, and His Name is Jesus. He is that God-man that Job longed for:
“There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).
Jesus Our Priest
Jesus is our High Priest. A priest represents people to God and God to people. Since Jesus is human and Deity, He is our official representative:
“Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God…” (Hebrews 4:14).
Jesus Our Comforter
Jesus lived His life on earth as a man, and He faced temptations as we do. So, He understands our troubles:
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One (Jesus) who was in every sense tempted like we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus Invites Us
Jesus is the friend of sinners, and He invites us to come to His throne:
“Let us then come with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
It’s comforting to know we’ve shared confidence with Jesus, whether our situation changes or not.
“God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
For another helpful article on this subject, please click here.
