Lessons From a Job Season – Travis McSherley

Published Jan 29, 2025, 2:49 PM

Ever feel like Job? This Old Testament book is something else! But aren’t you glad God included it in His Word? Job’s suffering is almost too overwhelming to think about. Travis McSherley is from Punta Gorda. He joined us to talk about his “Job Season.”

https://www.amazon.sg/Lesson-Job-Season-Sovereignty-Suffering/dp/0984949828 

 

Kurt and Kate mornings. Not just on the radio.

It's a podcast too.

Do you ever feel like job? This Old Testament book is something else. But aren't you glad that God included it in His word? I definitely am. Sometimes it's hard to read, but it's it's so instructive and so encouraging. If you stick with it, job's suffering is almost too overwhelming to think about. What does something like that look like in today's world or right now in somebody's life? Who's who's walking and living and breathing right now? Travis surely understands what it's like to have one thing right after another, after another, after another happen. Just like job. And he did not want to waste the experience. He did not want to waste the pain. And so he put everything together in a little book.

Yeah. and it's great because when you're in the midst of a moment like that, a season like that in your life, you just really want to jump to the end and see that it's going to be okay. That people come out of it. And so he shares that with us as well. The hope of the future, because our God is our hope.

One of the benefits, though, Travis is also a part of our community. He lives in Punta Gorda, used to live in Cape Coral. Now he's in Punta Gorda, so he's a part of our family. Let's talk about your job season. Let's just walk through it. I want to take our time here and just, uh, and do a flyover. We'll get to some of the things that God has taught you in the midst of this, but let's just let's start at the beginning of this season.

Yeah. So I talked to you a couple years ago, right after Hurricane Ian, where we had lost our home. And what I didn't know at that time was that in the Lord's providence, losing our home in the hurricane would not even really be in the top five hardest things that we would face in that year or two. Um, so. Right, right before the hurricane, we had we had lost a baby in a miscarriage. Um, and then in the months following, um, we I lost my grandmother and my mother. Um, and had had back pain that was, um, turned out to be a tumor that required emergency surgery in three weeks in the hospital. Um, it was benign praise. Praise the Lord. But it was a very long recovery. And then my wife had multiple hospital stays in a in a very difficult pregnancy that, um, in God's kindness was, um, brought our baby boy into the world. But, um, it was very hard road for her. Um, yeah. So that's the that's the very basic.

Oh my goodness. And as we go through that and just think about one of one of those things.

Pause.

Yeah. No. When it rains it's a tsunami is basically what it is. So here you are. You've walked through this and it's so valuable again for you to share Your story about your walk with God. Let's talk about let's start with the hurricane taking out your home. Um, that in and of itself, and we have some folks who are still dealing with the after effect of after effects of this past hurricane season with Milton and Helene. Uh, and so when you've lost that, you you guys lost everything right in your home. I mean, you didn't get much stuff out.

Uh, we got we got some stuff out. But obviously the hardest part was not being able to stay in our home and having to to move around and do Airbnbs and rentals.

And how long did you do that being displaced like that?

Uh, we, we had 2 or 3 months of Airbnbs and then about a year and a half of renting before we finally got all the insurance things finalized so that we could buy another house.

Okay. So, as you were, what is this doing right out of the gate? You're you're walk with with Jesus. It's like, okay, um. The hurricane, the home. Lord, I know you're here with me. I am standing on what I know to be true. Out of your word. But it sure is hard. Being honest with God is about anything. Is is something we need to embrace. I mean, look at the psalmist, right? Read. Some of the Psalms are so very real and God knows everything anyway. What we're thinking, what we're going through. Were you ever did you ever battle a sense of hopelessness? Uh, not that you lost your hope, but maybe you lost it for a period of time.

Um, yeah, I think it was a battle all the time. Um, but I think what you what you just said is, is right on that. It's what you know to be true in of the Lord and his word that you cling to. And that's that's kind of why I wrote this book. Is that, um, It's meant to be things that you can read, whether you're in suffering or whether you're not yet in a time of suffering. And then you have these, these things to cling to. And I'm thinking it's not it's not meant to be a formula for walking through suffering, but more like a life preserver to cling to during those times.

Oh, I love I love that metaphor that is so good.

And if you know, if you know the truth, you know about God's word will carry you, carry you through those times of suffering. And so that's that's really what it was, was as we were walking through that, just clinging to those truths that we knew to be true. And, and then we could see the, the hope and the the joy in it.

When you deal with one thing, you can, with the Lord's help, handle that. But then there's the next thing we're talking about this tsunami, the next thing and the next thing. It got progressively harder for you guys, didn't it?

Yeah. Like I said, the hurricane seemed like that was going to be the the hard thing to define that season, but then it kept dropping down the list. But at the same time, the Lord showed how he was providing more and more through through each each thing.

What about your wife? Uh, you know, because we all have our own individual walk with the Lord as well as in community, with each other, as believers. Um, what was her walk like through all of this?

I think I think it was it was similar. And we we we talked through these things and, and sought to encourage each other in the Lord. And it's kind of one of those things when one of us is feeling a little stronger on a certain day than we could encourage the other one. And and so the Lord used her to help me and used me to help her, I think.

Thank you for taking some time to listen to this episode of the Curtin Kate Mornings podcast. We always welcome a review with your thoughts and comments, and please feel free to subscribe and follow us as well.

So, Travis, in the midst of this, how did you stay afloat? You used the metaphor, and I've often used that same metaphor for the word of God in a very difficult season when you're going through tough stuff. The Word of God is like a life preserver that you put on so you don't sink. Did you feel that way, too?

Yeah, I'd say I'd say so. And I think, um, so I wrote this book pretty soon after a lot of this happened, and while we were still very much in the recovery kind of season. And I did that because I knew that I was going to forget these things and all these what I'm calling lessons are, are really just, um, truths that I, I've always known and all Christians should know about the Lord. But in times of of suffering can get can get foggy and can be hard to see. And so I wanted to write down for myself and for others to be able to see these things that are true about the Lord in all times, hard times or not as hard times, but that during the hard times can be not as easy to to bring to mind. Yeah. Unless you. Yeah. Unless the Lord helps you, helps you ingrain them in.

Let's talk about some of these lessons then. Uh, lesson number one you have here. His grace is sufficient. Oh, wow. For my power is made perfect in weakness. Wow. The apostle Paul. Uh, the thorn in the flesh and all of that where Paul said, please, Lord, take it away. Take it away three times. And God said, no. In essence, my grace is sufficient for you. Okay, so let's talk more about that lesson and how it applied to you.

Yeah. So I think that's that's one of those. I started out with that just because it's like that's kind of the the basis of basis of it all is that you have to cling to the truth, that God's grace is always there, no matter how hard things seem seem to us, and that he is always with us and always upholding us. And that, you know, if you if you have that hope ingrained in you, then then you can he can walk you through anything.

Yeah. When I am weak, then I am strong. You know, a lot of times we have people who are, you know, as we just hang out here this morning after you basically listed everything that you and your family have been going through or had gone through. There's some folks who are saying to themselves, I just don't know if I could handle that, whatever it is or all of those things at once. I couldn't handle losing my home in a hurricane. I couldn't handle the loss of family members very close to me. I, I couldn't handle, and then they fill in the blank. But have you found it to be true that when we think like that, we're not remembering that God's grace will be provided for us when we get there? We have no need of it yet. But when we need it, he will provide it. Is that what happened with you?

Yeah. And I say early on that, you know, I know some people could not fathom going through any of the trials that we went through. And on the other hand, there's others who have far more difficult struggles and have had them for far longer and may have them for their whole lives. And, um, so I kind of just shared our story as kind of a baseline to say, yeah, we've we've suffered as more than many, less than many. Um, but the, the truths, whatever, whatever is true in here is true regardless of how much or little we've suffered. And. Yes, Um, you can you. Yeah. If you're if you're not suffering now, then you have to store these truths from God's word in your heart.

Exactly. See, that's one of the reasons why we like to have our conversations. Because. And you may be saying, well, I'm not going through anything right now, but like Travis is alluding to. Uh, not to be, uh, you know, trying to be freaked out that. Oh, no, the other shoe is going to drop what's around the corner, I'm afraid. No, no, no, no need to be afraid. And Jesus himself said, don't worry about tomorrow. Right in the sermon on the Mount. Um, you know, tomorrow has enough worries of its own. Um, he's going to be there to help you handle whatever's around the corner. We don't need to live in fear of all of that. We need to live with gusto today. But part of living wisely today is listening to folks, other believers like Travis, who have lessons that they have been taught by God, by, you know, going through all this stuff. And we lean in, we listen, and we make deposits in our faith account so that when we need to make a withdrawal, it's already there. Same thing with God's Word we implanted in our hearts so that we can draw from it at a moment's notice. So his grace is sufficient. Something else you mentioned. Lesson number two sing often and pray always. Tell us more about that.

Yeah. So I mean, it kind of says it all in the, in the title, but it's, uh, you know, songs that we have in the hymns and, and songs of praise that we can speak, speak words to us when we don't always have the words to speak to the Lord. And I said that even if, even if you're in a season where you don't feel like you can sing, or maybe you physically can't sing, you can. You can listen to those words on, on a, on a playlist or on an album. Um, and then, you know, praying, you know, the Lord tells us to pray without ceasing, and and again in the Holy Spirit will will help us pray when we don't have the words. And so those are, those are kind of anchors that that speak the truth and speak the truth to, to yourself. Um, during, during those seasons.

Yeah. The power is lesson number three. The power of I have been there. That's sharing our stories and and also encouraging others because I mean, that's what you're doing right now with your story.

And I found it to be amazing on the receiving end of that, that whenever someone says, yeah, I've had that exact surgery or I, I lost my mother. Also how much it encourages my my soul. Um, and, and on the other end that, you know, even since we've been through all this, you know, we've we've met other people who've lost their homes in the hurricanes and we've met other people who have gone through medical struggles and, and grief. And we can say, you know, I've, I've been there and I try to root that in in Second Corinthians, where Paul says that he's been given, given grace to be given to others as a comfort.

How do we encourage folks who are suffering right now, whatever they may be dealing with? Maybe a bunch of stuff like you guys dealt with, or maybe it's just one big thing. Sometimes we feel we feel helpless, and we and we're really careful because we don't want to say something to make it worse. Um, we want to be encouraging, but, you know, it's that that power or that ministry of presence, isn't it? It's just coming alongside of you and and just being there and praying for you. And we don't have to have all the answers, right?

Yeah. We're not going to have all the answers. And I think, uh, I think there's, there's a power in just kind of Doing something and an encouraging word goes a long way. And I think, um, you know, the next chapter is the the blessing of the body of Christ. And, you know, as, as a church, uh, we're called to bear each other's burdens and to love one another. And that that is huge. And that is, um, something that the Lord used immensely in our, our trials is meals that were brought to our house and friends that came to, to visit and even just a a text message that says praying for you today. Um, are huge, huge, huge.

Yeah. Yeah. Grief is not the enemy is less than five.

Oh.

Tell us more about that.

Yeah. And I actually started thinking these thoughts, um, even before, um, these trials, um, after I lost my, my dad in 2012. Um, and it just, uh, it's just something that I just thought about all those years that, um, grief is not a grief comes as a part of the fallen world and the curse. But it's it's a good thing to to grieve and to, um, to take that to the Lord and to, um, to grieve with hope and to to remember, um, that which we've lost and to remember that, um, this is not the way that it's meant to be, and it's not the way that it's going to be forever. And that that the Lord will redeem all the things that we grieve.

Um, and your last lesson is remember God. And you know what? It's it's like cutting to the chase, getting to job 42, verse five. After all of this stuff that job dealt with, and you walk through the book of job and you've got his so-called friends who were not really all that great at encouraging him and we're off base. And you have all of you know. And this is the deal, guys. Uh, spoiler alert if you haven't read the book of job. Job never gets the answer to the question why? We get to see what's happening behind the scenes with Satan demanding, uh, you know. Job to sift him, so to speak, you know, and that's it was this big argument, you know. And and God saying, have you seen my servant job? He's righteous. ET cetera. ET cetera. And Satan says, yeah, you take away all the stuff, he'll curse you to your face. And yet, job, I mean the ups and downs, you can see the humanity of job, but you know. He didn't know about that conversation. We know. Well, he knows now he's in heaven. But. You know we know. But he didn't know at the time. And so he's walking through all of. That he never gets the answer to why? Instead, God reveals who he is, you know. God says, this is who I am. This is what I've done. And so we have God finally addressing job with a revelation of himself. And then verse five, job 42, verse five. Job falls down before God and says, I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. What a wonderful verse. I've heard of you. I've. I've heard about your truth, God. About who you are. But now I really see you. Because I've experienced you in my hurt and in my need, in my trials.

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