There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job: and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east. Job 1:1-3 NASB
The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold. Job 42:10 NASB
The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. He had seven sons and three daughters. Job 42:12-13 NASB
The book of Job is the story of a righteous, God-fearing man. The devil was roaming about one day looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). God pointed out what a righteous and good man Job was. The devil told God that Job was only righteous because God had blessed him so and had formed a hedge of protection around Job and his possessions. God allowed the devil to test Job but told the devil that he must not put his hands on Job.
Within one day, Job lost everything, his children, his livestock, and his servants. He got boils all over his body. His wife told him to just curse God and die. His friends went through these lengthy discussions about how Job just needed to fess up about the sins he had committed and get right with God. His friend Eliphaz even accused Job of taking advantage of the weak and the poor to gain the wealth and influence that he had attained. But through it all, Job maintained his innocence and sought God in order that he might plead his case with him. When it was all said and done God was angry with Job’s friends for insinuating that Job’s suffering was because of hidden sin in his life. But Job prayed for his friends, even though they had spoken against him, and God blessed Job by restoring everything he had twofold. When it was all said and done, Job was given double.
There are so many lessons to be learned from the book of Job. Our Sunday school lesson for this week reminds us that not everyone who is suffering is suffering because of sin in their lives. Sometimes the good suffer as a test of their devotion to God. There is a long list of men and women in the Old Testament that were righteous and suffered. But the end result is that God pulled them through. The Israelites were literally between a rock and a hard place when God opened up the Red Sea and allowed them to walk through on dry land. Noah and his family suffered the flood but were kept safe by God in the ark that He had commanded Noah to build. Abraham and Sarah were given their son Isaac in their old age. Abraham was faithful to the point of being willing to offer Isaac as a sacrifice but at the last minute God stopped him and provided a ram. Daniel continued to pray even after being ordered not to and for this, he was thrown into the lion’s den. The end result was Daniel spent the night in there without even a scratch. Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to worship an idol and for that they were thrown into a fiery furnace. But they came out without being burned and escaped without even the smell of soot on their clothes.
Life is a series of ups and downs, riding high one minute and sinking low the next. The question is how we will come out on the end of the trial. Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. If you are trusting in God and face trials and tests in life, then know that you will be okay. You will come out victorious. Romans 8:37 tells us that we overwhelmingly conquer whatever life throws our way through Him who loved us.
The bottom line is this, you are going to face many trials in your lifetime. With God we are guaranteed to come through victorious. Without God you are literally all on your own. And like me, you might find that if you try to go it on your own that one trial just leads to another which leads to another and so on.
The best thing I ever did for myself was to trust God with all I had. Once I gave it all over to him, the good, the bad and the ugly, those mountains became molehills. I pray that you will do the same. When we trust in God our tests just become our testimony. He can also turn your mess into your message. There is no better time than right now to give it all over to Him.
Have a great day!