When Life Is Unfair, what do we do? 

To my recollection, life has never not been unfair. Trials, and tribulations come to all. Troubles come to the weak and to the strong. Life's events do not discriminate.

There are tons of Bible passages that speak to problems and disappointments in life. We can recount the stories of Bible characters who certainly had their share of life being unfair.

Joseph, in Genesis 37, had some horrific crimes stacked against him. He was the victim of a kidnapping by his brothers (held against his will by being thrown into a pit), and then trafficked to some Ishmaelites.  If that wasn't bad enough, he was accused of sexual misconduct by his boss's wife who sexually harassed him regularly, imagine that. Joseph was thrown into prison and when he helped others, he, himself was forgotten. His story has a sweet end because God's providential face was in it all. There was a purpose in all God allowed. Joseph's obedience to God as a young man, opened him up to these horrific trials. There is a price to pay for obedience to God, but it's never without a tremendous blessing. Joseph became Governor of Egypt and saved many including his own family during seven years of a fierce famine.

David was hunted down by King Saul for many years because he was a young man of courage and character. Saul failed to have the guts as king to stand up against Goliath. It took a 17-year-old boy to verbally challenge this Philistine giant. David had had previous, powerful experiences that proved to him that he was never to be afraid of anyone or anything. Saul, on the other hand, ran and hid with his men behind a rock in fear of Goliath. Everyone's attention is now turned to this young teenage boy who took out a giant with a sling shot and a few smooth stones. Saul can't deal with the attention David is getting and seeks every opportunity to kill him (1 Samuel 19). He put David through hell. We read in the Psalms, from chapters 51 to 72, some of the heart felt agony David went through at the hands of his enemies. Having someone hunt you down for years threatening to kill you is traumatic, yet God allowed it because David was to be Israel's second king. God was through with Saul and his disobedient heart.

Lastly, we have a woman by the name of Hannah who couldn't have children. She was the second wife of Elkanah in 1 Samuel 1. His first wife, Peninnah, had several children, and she made it her business to attack Hannah every chance she got. She made Hannah's life miserable. This went on for quite some time. Hannah's husband said the wrong thing by ranking himself to be more fulfilling than having a baby. It got to the point, one day, where it all came crashing in on Hannah. She couldn't take it any longer. She stopped eating due to depression and she went into the temple to cry out to God and to add insult to injury, the priest misunderstood the situation and accused her of drinking. Oh, my goodness! The priest, I tell you, the priest! He should have had more spiritual perception to know that this was a burdened heart. He was spiritually dull and lacking. Long story short, God answers her prayer, and she becomes pregnant with a son who would become a judge and a prophet in Israel. God gave her Samuel. What a sweet end to a bitter and unfair experience.

Life is and will continue to be unfair, but when God is in the mix, you can expect great things to happen. What God allows, He allows on purpose for purposes of His own so hang in there and keep trusting and believing. God has a blessed end to it all!

Fellowship - A shared common interest.

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11

"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."
Proverbs 27:17

As Christians we should jump for the opportunity to fellowship with each other. We should look forward to those occasions when we get together to talk and share spiritual things. This occurs in simple conversations of any topic and somewhere in the exchange one or more persons brings up the Lord in relation and in context to what is being spoken about. These can be the sweetest of times with believers because we are sharing a common interest which is the Lord God.

Gone are the days when we use to flank the homes of believers just because. I can remember stopping by the homes of fellow Christians and having a snack. During those times important things would be shared with me as a younger believer. The opportunity for learning was had and oh the gems of wisdom and encouragement I received then, and those words has continued to carry me today.

We can clearly see the need for such gatherings. We need to go back to opening our homes for such interaction to occur. We need to value it at all costs. Life and its concerns, over the years, have kept us running from one thing to another week after week, month after month, and year after year. We've had little time between family, the job, school and church activities. We pass one another and have short segments of chit chat of sorts, but often nothing valuable is shared. 

I am seeing that we may be forced to go back to meeting in one another's home to conduct church services. We could easily lose our church buildings where for decades we have met freely without fear. Something is coming that will challenge each and every Christian where this is concerned.

Let us seriously consider gathering together informally in our homes. You don't need a reason except for the encouragement and strengthening of fellow believers. Let us make the time in our schedules for such an opportunity. It can be done once a month and for those who are retired, it can be a commitment to a weekly Bible study. Home Bible studies are the best. So much can be shared and learned, and it also fosters closeness.

May the Lord help us to value what He values and to appreciate the body of Christ.

"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all."
1 Thessalonians 5:14