Week 9: Pain
The world we live in is surrounded and emersed in pain. Be it physical or emotional, how do we find God in that? How can we feel his arms of love when we are wracked with the pain of human life?
Week 8: Choices
How do you make the hard choices? The ones where (not to quote the Fray or anything), the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. How do you deal with that? What are some choices YOU have had to make?
Week 7: Hate vs. Love
How do you truly “love your enemies” and “pray for those who persecute you”? How do YOU choose between hate and love?
Week 4
What if God calls you to be shamed for his sake? To have heartbreak? Does this happen?
(Reference to this is Hosea).
Week 3: Mind over matter
“Having hope will give you courage; you will be protected and will rest in safety.”- Job 11:18
How does mental attitude about the hard times help you get through it? Can mind over matter really apply sometimes?
Week 2: So you have plans for me, huh?
Jeremiah 29: 11 says “For I know the plans I have for,” says the LORD, “Plans to prosper, not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.”
So if God has plans to prosper us, why do we seem to always been in so much hurt? Why is there so much pain in this world if God’s plans are “to give us a future and a hope.” What do you guys think? So many people ask that question. What do you have to say to them?
I mean, sure there are the typical answers of “Well, God isn’t the only force working here.” But is there an answer beyond that? Is there ever purpose in the pain?
Introduction to “The Job Project”
Hello Friends:
My name is Sarah Jane Kyle, and I am the author of “Dear Battered Heart.”
In searching for the subject matter of my next book, I found myself truly struggling with what to write about. Sure, I had plenty of ideas, but none of them really stuck enough for me to pour out the energy necessary to produce something meaningful. That is, until “The Job Project.”
“The Job Project” is an adventure in finding the “God of the Hard Times”- the God of Job. It will tell the storiess of people who have struggled financially, physically and emotionally, and show how/if they found God in the midst of those trials.
In many ways, “The Job Project” is an experiment. I am not sure of what stories will come to me or how my life will be affected by hearing them (and in turn sharing them), but I invite you to join me on this journey.
There are three ways you can be involved in “The Job Project,” and they are as follows:
1. The Blog:
- Each week, I will post a blog sharing some thoughts, a bible verse, etc. These thoughts and verses will, naturally, keep with the theme of “The Job Project.” Share your thoughts, generate discussion! If you wish that your thoughts NOT be made part of the book, but would still like to share, just put the phrase “OFF THE RECORD” at the beginning of your post.
2. The E-mails:
-The e-mails will work two-fold. I am looking for both nominations for testimony ideas and YOUR testimony. Have you been through the “valley of the shadow of death” recently, or been inspired by someone who has? E-mail “godofthehardtimes@gmail.com.”
3: Snail Mail:
-Snail mail is the best form for the anonymous among you. Send a postcard or letter to “Sarah Kyle- The Job Project, HU 12790, 915 E. Market St., Searcy, AR, 72149.” Share questions you have, frustrations, secrets. These thoughts do not HAVE to be anonymous, but that is just an option.
So that, in a nutshell, is the beginning of “The Job Project.” I will post a blog thought every Sunday, and cannot wait to hear what you have to say. Please share the project with your friends, family, acquaintances. You’d be amazed at how much we all have in common.
Week 1: Consider it joy? Are you kidding, James??
For the first week, I thought we’d go with something of a classic.
James 1:2-3 says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers [and sisters] whenever you face trials of any kind, for the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”
How many times have you read that verse and thought something along the lines of “What, are you on crack, James? You want me to look at this stuff as JOY? No way.” As human beings, our natural survival instinct screams against the lunacy of that statement. We are almost hard-wired to resist trials and pain, and instead favor the world when it is full of sunshine, puppy dogs and rainbows.
Where can joy be found when a tsunami wipes out millions of innocent people…when a car crash claims the life of a teenager who wanted to change the world…when the sweetest person you know is diagnosed with cancer…when physical disease and condition takes away the goals you had for your life… when debt strangles you to the point of suffocation?
So often, we only say “Praise God!” when good things happen or bad times cease. But is there ever a time to look at the trials and pain we face and scream “Praise God!”? James seemed to think so. How about you?
