Years ago, while in graduate school, I taught Sunday School kids who came to church on the bus. The church I attended at that time had a bus ministry that brought several hundred kids and some adults to church. The first graders, although they had not been taught much about the Lord and His word, caught on very quickly. They learned that we were trying to teach them about God, Jesus and the Bible; therefore, the answer to every question we asked them in review was God, Jesus and the Bible!

A simple truth: The answer to every question we have in life has it’s answer in God, Jesus, and the Bible.

When it comes to answering the question poised above as title of this article, most Christians answer with confidence; God, Jesus, the Bible, just like the first graders!  Are we answering this way because we know it is the expected answer or are we answering this way because it is evident in our lives?

Do we compromise ourselves to relieve persecution?  Do we bow the knee to God’s enemies to regain lost favor?  Do we talk more about Satan’s opposition than we do victory in Christ?  Do we rush in to relieve pressure that God has imposed on others?  Do we unwittingly shield and protect loved ones and others from God’s chastening? 

When trouble pursues us, when persecution comes, when opposition rushes us, what do we do?   Do we meet it with emotion of our own, do we meet it with an exchange of our own wrath, or  do we meet it with some magnificent self-conceived manipulation of our own? 

If we know that God is in control, then we should be able to see God’s hand in suffering and we should be able to rejoice in the midst of trouble and opposition.

When trouble and opposition come it is an opportunity to participate in what God is doing.  It is an opportunity to demonstrate that we know He is in control by remaining calm, by being submissive to His will and by being obedient to His word.

Note:  Read through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekial looking for the faithful remnant and looking for what God asked them to do as He poured out the fury of His wrath upon Israel for their transgressions and unbelief.  Observe that Israel’s enemies were but instruments in God’s hand to accomplish His purpose.