Where Is God in Times of Hardship

By Victoria Masvisvi

HAVE YOU EVER QUESTIONED WHETHER GOD IS THERE?

In this book, Victoria seeks to answer this question.

Using numerous Bible characters and stories, she

brings an awareness to every reader that hardships

have always existed and God has always been fully

aware of them-and readily available for us

• Language: English
• Publisher: Caracal Books
• Release date: Feb 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781916486881

Victoria Masvisvi

Victoria, a fast growing author has impacted many lives around the world through her inspired writings. Having been impacted by the knowledge and revelations derived from the word of God , Victoria endeavors to share these treasures relentlessly. Through her previous heart searching writings, many have felt refreshed, blessed, inspired, enlightened and uplifted. No doubt this publication will do the same or even surpass your expectations. Besides, Victoria is a thriving healthcare professional and a married mother of two who believes in living a simple God-led life.

Book preview

By Victoria Masvisvi

Where Is God in Times of Hardship?

© 2021 by Victoria Masvisvi

ISBN 978-1-9164868-9-8

Published by Caracal Books

United Kingdom. https://www.facebook.com/CaracalBooks

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication.

Cover photo: Image by Parij Borgohain-Pixabay

Scripture- New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture- New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

Scripture- NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission.

Scripture- New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture-Modern English Version, Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. All rights reserved. Used by permission

Scripture-Authorized King James Version. Rights vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown patentee, Cambridge University Press

Contents

Acknowledgement 

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Origin of Hardship

Chapter 2: Abraham, Sarah and Hannah Faced Barrenness

Chapter 3: Jacob Faced Hard Labour and Being Cheated of Wages

Chapter 4: Joseph Faced Hatred, Enslavement, Temptation, False Allegations and Imprisonment

Chapter 5: Moses and Aaron Faced Leadership Opposition

Chapter 6: The Israelites Faced Long-term    Enslavement, the Red Sea and the Wilderness Test

Chapter 7: A Certain Widow Faced Debt Due to Lack

Chapter 8:  Hezekiah, Asa and Ahaziah Faced Life-threatening Conditions

Chapter 9: Job Lost Everything and Faced Physical Affliction

Chapter 10:  David Was Pursued by Enemies and Betrayed by Haters

Chapter 11: Jesus Christ Faced Temptation, Confrontation, Despising, Opposition, Taunting, Betrayal and Crucifixion

Chapter 12: The Apostles Faced a Variety of Challenges

Chapter 13: The Kings Who Strayed Faced Hardship.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!!

Introduction   

Since we all want to live a smooth and comfortable life, we cannot ignore hardships. Google defines hardship as severe suffering, a difficulty or privation.  The description is something that blocks one’s way or hinders progress or a characteristic of being needy. Several synonyms to hardship exist, and these include; struggle, calamity, trouble, persecution, catastrophe, adversity, torment, grief, misfortune, oppression, discomfort, worry, ill, want, torture, distress, poverty, failure, inconvenience, harm, disappointment, loss, anxiety, disaster. I could go on and on. If we can be honest, none of us wishes to cross any path with any of these. The reality is, we all, at some point in life, find ourselves walking side by side with any of these.

I spent many years believing a myth that, as a believer in the true God, ‘I deserve a comfortable life throughout,’ explaining why I became so frustrated each time I faced a challenge. Many a time, I found myself bitter and questioning God why life was not going as I expected, ‘yet I am your child?’

God graciously started showing me through His Word, the Bible, the realities behind hardships. Hence, this book's contents aim to bring an awareness of these realities and God’s standpoint on the subject. We will examine the life stories of biblical predecessors who went through different kinds of challenges, to inspire us as we journey through difficult seasons and situations.

Chapter 1

The Origin of Hardships 

Hardships have existed ever since the fall of man; however, it was never God’s intention for mankind to suffer. His Holy Word says,

"So God Created mankind in His image, in the image of God He created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’

Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so." Genesis 1: 27-30 (NIV)

After creating man, God placed him in a lavish garden.

The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. Genesis 2v9-17. (NIV)

This Scripture, to me, describes a life of abundance and comfort, showing how God generously resourced man to enjoy life.

At this juncture, God decided to make the woman for the man to be his suitable helper.

Then the game-changer, the devil, came to the scene disguised as a snake and deceived the woman by questioning God’s instruction to the man inviting trouble.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?

The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’

You will not certainly die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:1-6 (NIV)

Mankind listened to the wrong voice, for this serpent is mentioned later on in the scriptures by the apostle Paul when he said, "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:3. (NIV)

After eating the fruit from the forbidden tree, Adam and Eve were naked and tried to cover up, implying embarrassment that had not existed before. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves some coverings. For the first time, they became scared of God, so they hid away from God among the trees of the garden.

A ‘naming and blaming’ game followed when God questioned them about their behaviour. The man blamed the woman, and the woman blamed the snake. It is at that point that God interjected with a verdict for the incident of lying and disobedience.

So the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

To the woman he said, I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labour you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.

To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. Genesis 3:13-19 (NIV)

Disobeying God’s instruction meant surrendering dominion over to the