Grace For Your Day April 15

Job 5:7 says, “For man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward” which means that you cannot avoid trouble. No matter what you do in this life, everyone experiences sorrow and pain as the Book of Job itself demonstrates. Job 1:1 says that “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.” In other words, Job was a Godly man. He had the highest moral character.

Yet it did not keep him from pain because he lost his possessions, his family, and health in Job 1-2. To make matters worse, he could not figure out why it was happening to him because the Lord never gave him an answer. He just reminded him at the end of the book that “I know that [God] can do all things, and that no purpose of [His] can be thwarted” (42:2).

This is something that Tim Challies can personally relate to because, on November 3, 2020 his son, Nick, died unexpectedly as a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he was studying to become a pastor. He had recently gotten engaged and was participating in a sports activity when he collapsed suddenly for an unknown reason. Despite the best efforts of medical personnel, he could not be revived and passed away at the age of 21. In

In his own words, Challies said, “A darkness overcame me the night Nick died. Up to that point, my life had largely been bright and easy. But the world around me began to grow hazy when I heard he had collapsed, and it grew dimmer still when I was told he has been rushed to the hospital. The doctor’s pronouncement of his death was like a heavy darkness creeping in and settling around me, dulling my senses, trapping me in shadow. Though my eyes may have remained clear, my mind was not. My heart was not. Everything felt muffled and distorted.”

However, the Lord brought him through it. Even though the time of darkness was difficult, God used it to teach him that, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21). This is why we have asked Tim Challies to come speak to us this weekend at our “Seasons of Sorrow Conference.” The conference will be held on the campus of the Free Reformed Church at 45471 Yale Road in Chilliwack.

The schedule is as follows:

Friday
6:00 p.m. Arrive/Registration
6:30 p.m. Session 1
8:00 p.m. Coffee/Tea/Snacks
9:00 p.m. Leave

Saturday
8:30 a.m. Arrive
9:00 a.m. Session 2
10:30 a.m. Coffee/Tea/Snacks
11:00 a.m. Q & A with Tim & Aileen Challies
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Session 3

In order to register for the event, you can call our church office at (604) 712-1044 or email us at admin@gracefellowshipchilliwack.com or register online at https://form.jotform.com/240047921349254. Walk up registrations are also allowed.

We are pleased to have this opportunity to hear from Tim Challies on this important subject. As many of you know, Tim is a noted author who has written several books and blogs regularly at the website www.challies.com. He is also an elder at Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, Ontario. Please pray for all those who attend this conference will be blessed and edified in the faith. We would love to see you there if you can make it! He will also be preaching at Grace Fellowship Church on Sunday morning at our 9:30 service.

– Jeremy Cagle