The book of Job is a story about suffering, trust, endurance, honesty, and deliverance. The book tells the story of a Job, a man who loses his wealth, family, health, and friends, everything that this world considers to be valuable. However, Job was a man of great character. The Lord describes him as "There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8b). Job was human and obviously had his own flaws, but he was a man who was "blameless" and "upright" in all he did. He was focused on TRUTH and living for God despite his circumstances. Even in the midst of some of the most intense worldly pains, Job refused to curse God despite his wife's words and accusations from his friends. He believed that everything should be accepted from God, whether it was "good or trouble." Job's heart was in a humble place. He was extremely courageous in such an intense whirlwind of pain and suffering. He had a supernatural strength.
However, everything that Job went through made no logical sense. This had nothing to do with the good or bad he had done, or how God viewed or blessed him in the past. He was chosen to endure some of the unfair battles of spiritual warfare. At the very beginning of chapter one, Satan appears after "roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it" (Job 1:7b). He was up to no good, looking for someone to devour. Job appeared to be the perfect candidate because of his upright status. Satan wanted to shame God's belief that Job was a good man. He wanted to attack Job on the most intense levels to prove his weaknesses. So God, within his own control, allowed Satan to test Job.
Despite everything that Job went through (his flocks being murdered, his family being crushed by their home, his body being covered from head to toe with painful sores), he still praised God. God was still glorified, something Satan was trying to take away from him. Although Job was honest about his feelings of anguish, anger, and sadness, he never once cursed God for allowing these things to happen to him. He accepted his lot. Can you say that you would have this attitude given the circumstances? This is not normal, and not of this world. This is why Satan, the “prince of this world,” can never defeat the power of God. Once again, Job had supernatural strength.
When we are being tested, it is not always because God desires us to go through pain and suffering. Literally, we get stuck in the middle of age old spiritual warfare. God will allow Satan to push us to our limits, but he will NEVER allow Satan to take his glory and defeat us. It reminds me of one of my favorite verses, "in all these things we are MORE than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). More than conquerors, how awesome is that? We are powerful creatures through HIM who loved us. Our God is not a wimpy God, and because he gives us his strength, we are not wimpy either. We were made in his image, capable of fighting the good fight and enduring hardship and suffering beyond what our human minds can comprehend.
At the end of the story, despite what appeared to be never ending pain and sorrow, Job was blessed two-fold. Because of his dedication and trust in the Lord, he was delivered out of his troubles and given back everything he had once had and more. God wants to bless and deliver us, especially after extreme spiritual warfare battles. As a close friend told me recently, “he doesn’t give you hamburger after giving you steak.” In the end, the eternal prize is what we strive for. The suffering is worth it, even if it’s not fair.
No comments:
Post a Comment