Have you ever been in or are currently in a season where it seems like everything is going wrong? Not only is everything going wrong, but it's happening back to back and it seems like you can't catch your breath? You're trying to understand why your life is declining. Where did you go wrong? You've been faithful in your walk and service to God. You've been committed to church and faithful in your giving. You've prayed and prayed and prayed. You've even sacrificed more than you ever have before for God. You've walked righteously to the best of your ability but things just seem to not be working out for you and it seems like God is silent...
Well, consider this...
We all know the story of Job. God had a conversation with Satan about how blameless Job was and how much integrity he had. However, Satan insisted that it was only because God had blessed him tremendously. Job was the wealthiest man in his region and had a large family of 7 sons, 3 daughters, and his wife to share his wealth with. Satan thought that if Job lost all of his wealth and became ill in his body, he would no longer be as blameless as God claimed him to be. So God allowed Satan to do what he would like to Job except he could not kill him. (see Job 1-2).
Let's take a closer look at Job's story. The Bible does not give us much detail about Job's history with God, but from the detail it does give, we can take some information from that. We know that Job feared God and stayed away from evil. But why was God so confident in Job that He boasted about him to Satan? Job 1:5 says "When these celebrations ended—sometimes after several days—Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice." Now you may have just read this verse previously without any thought, but perhaps it is saying more than you think. From this scripture I can tell that not only did Job stay away from evil, but he was an intercessor for his children. Job stood in the gap for others. I can only imagine that if he did this regularly for his children, he had to have had a strong prayer life. Not only that, but Job also lived a life of sacrifice by offering burnt offerings to the Lord. Job's prayer life, fear of God and sacrifice show us that he loved God and was in right standing in his relationship with God. He was faithful to God and this is why God had so much confidence in him.
Job was the perfect candidate for God to prove to Satan that He is I AM and His servants will always worship Him. The only reason God allowed Satan to strip everything from Job is because He already knew what the outcome would be. What Satan didn't realize is that he wasn't destroying Job or God's name, he was only being used in God's plan to show His infinite power. So maybe like Job, God has allowed certain things to happen in your life so that He would receive glory from it. You have shown God your faithfulness and He is only testing it to prove to the enemy that he can't win you. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." So even if the enemy's plans for you were bad, God's plans are what will prevail in the end. To make a long story short, in the end God not only restored everything Job had lost, but He gave him double of what he had before.
Much like how you may feel or may have felt, Job was in great distress when he lost everything and became ill. But be encouraged today and stand strong on your faith like Job did. The only reason God is allowing things to happen in your life is because He is confident that you will get through them. God will restore everything you have lost with better than what you had before. Take comfort in knowing that God loves you and He is with you in every circumstance.
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” - Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT
"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" - Romans 8:31 NLT
Be blessed!
- Marly
1 comment
Thank you so much for this blog! I received so much from this and have been feeling like I am at losses back to back it seems. I love the book of Job because it keeps me in good reminder of God’s love and Job’s faithfulness to God.