Something the Lord has been impressing upon me recently is what future grace accomplishes, that is, what it is for.
God's future grace (that is, the grace He pours out upon you from this moment until you finish this sentence, to the end of this journal entry, to when you go to bed at night, all the way to eternity future) is not a ticket out of suffering, disappointment, heartache, pain. Some people would like you to think that.
But that's not what it is. Future grace is Romans 8 promising that the present sufferings are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). Future grace is the promise that even though we face tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved and will continue to love us (Romans 8:35-37).
In other words, future grace is what brings us through pain, not just what delivers us out of it. This is so important I wish I could stress it to you more, to get you to somehow embrace this truth, because when your faith, your delight in God, is put to the test, you're going to want something more than the faith Satan questions in Job 1:9-11.
Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face."
Jonathan Edwards pointed out this verse to me today. It takes absolutely no grace in a person's life to love someone who continually gives them blessings. He pointed out Luke 6:34-36 as proof.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
My line of thinking is as follows (and no, I'm not doing this to be intellectual, but because my faith depends on it more than you could ever realize): To love God because He makes your circumstances pleasant, gives you a good job, gives you a comfortable life, a spouse, a family, a cool computer, whatever, takes zero grace. Sometimes, and for some it seems like oftentimes, God takes away these blessings, and when they are gone, what will you do then? Ahh, there, my dear reader, is where faith in future grace is everything.
Here's one of my heroes who had amazing faith in future grace:
Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
Do you see? "Though I am absolutely destitute of every earthly comfort and blessing, because I still have God, I am rich."
Now the question arises: how does one respond in such a way? You may be thinking, "That's impossible for me." You are right. The wrong response to what I've just written is: "Well, I hope that I have the strength to respond like that when the time comes." Please, please don't say that! Instead, say, "Lord, if You bring that into my life, be my only hope. I depend on You." Cry out to Him, because He delights to show Himself strong when all around our soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
So here is what happened when God took away all of Job's comforts by granting Satan permission to take them all away:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. (Job 1:21-22)
The testing of Job's faith produced endurance, endurance in the steadfast conviction that what God has promised to be for us, He will perform. So while Satan was used to test Job's faith, so it might be done to test Rob's faith. And yours. The key, my friend, the key is: see and savor the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ. When you have tasted and seen that the LORD is good, and He takes away His appetizers, you will still have the Main Course.
