our daily bread

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Dexu Xia

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Feb 7, 2018, 12:57:47 AM2/7/18

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Praising Through Problems

Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? Job 2:10

“It’s cancer.” I wanted to be strong when Mom said those words to me. But I burst into tears. You never want to hear those words even one time. But this was Mom’s third bout with cancer. After a routine mammogram and biopsy, Mom learned that she had a malignant tumor under her arm.

Though Mom was the one with bad news, she had to comfort me. Her response was eye-opening for me: “I know God is always good to me. He’s always faithful.” Even as she faced a difficult surgery, followed up by radiation treatments, Mom was assured of God’s presence and faithfulness.

How like Job. Job lost his children, his wealth, and his health. But after hearing the news, Job 1:20 tells us “he fell to the ground in worship.” When advised to curse God, he said, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (2:10). What a radical initial response. Though Job later complained, ultimately he accepted that God had never changed. Job knew that God was still with him and that He still cared.

For most of us, praise is not our first response to difficulties. Sometimes the pain of our circumstances is so overwhelming, we lash out in fear or anger. But watching Mom’s response reminded me that God is still present, still good. He will help us through hard times.

Lord, prepare me for the times when praise is most difficult to utter.

Is someone hurting? See this special edition of Our Daily Bread: Hope and Strength in Times of Illness at odb.org/hopeandstrength.

Even at our lowest point, we can lift our eyes to the Lord.

在患难中赞美

难道我们从上帝手里得福，不也受祸吗？-约伯记2章10节

当母亲告诉我：“是癌症。”我想要故作坚强，但眼泪却忍不住夺眶而出。我实在不想听到这样的消息，但这却是母亲第三次罹患癌症。经过一连串的乳房X光和切片检验，证实她的腋下长了一个恶性肿瘤。

虽然母亲罹患癌症，但她却反倒来安慰我。她的反应出乎我的意料，她说：“我知道上帝永远以良善待我，祂永远信实。”即使母亲必须面对艰难的手术，以及随后的电疗，她仍确信上帝的同在和信实。

这让我想到约伯，他失去儿女、财富和健康。然而当他听闻噩耗之后，他“伏在地上下拜”（约伯记1章20节）。当有人要他咒诅上帝时，他说：“难道我们从上帝手里得福，不也受祸吗？”（2章10节）这是多么不可思议的反应啊！虽然过后约伯也发了怨言，但最终他仍承认上帝从未改变。约伯知道上帝依然与他同在，并时刻眷顾着他。

对大部分的人来说，面对困境的第一个反应不会是赞美。有时，我们面对的痛苦实在难以承受，以致我们因惊惧或愤怒而发出怨言。但母亲的反应却提醒我，上帝仍然同在，祂仍是美善的，祂将帮助我们度过每一个难关。

亲爱的主，求祢让我预备好，
在面对难关时，仍能开口赞美祢。