Job 42:1-3,5-6,12-17
1Job
answered GOD: 2 "I'm convinced: You can do anything and everything.
Nothing and no one can upset your plans. 5 I admit I once lived by rumors of
you; now I have it all firsthand--from my own eyes and ears! 6 I'm
sorry--forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live
on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor." 12 GOD blessed Job's later life
even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six
thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. 13 He
also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first daughter Dove, the
second, Cinnamon, and the third, Darkeyes. 15 There was not a woman in that
country as beautiful as Job's daughters. Their father treated them as equals
with their brothers, providing the same inheritance. 16 Job lived on another
hundred and forty years, living to see his children and grandchildren--four
generations of them! 17 Then he died--an old man, a full life.
Food for
thought!
Today, we
come to the end of the Job's ordeal. He has been tested and found worthy of
God's blessing. Now we know that Job's ordeal was all about something good; it
was a blessing in disguise; it was preparing him for a big fortune. Lessons
learned:
1) The
situations that stretch our faith most are those times when life falls apart
and God is nowhere to be found. This happened to Job. On a single day he lost
everything—his family, his business, his health, and everything he owned.
2) Learn to
praise God even when you don’t understand what’s happening in your life and God
is silent. Stay connected in a crisis without communication. Keep your eyes on
Jesus even when they’re full of tears. Do what Job did: “Then he fell to the
ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I
will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD
be praised.’” (Job 1:20).
3) Tell God
exactly how you feel. Pour out your heart to God. Unload every emotion that
you’re feeling. Job did this when he said, “I can’t be quiet! I am angry and
bitter. I have to speak!” (Job 7:12). He cried out when God seemed distant:
“Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship
blessed my house.” (Job 29:4). God can handle your doubt, anger, fear, grief,
confusion, and questions.
4) Focus on
who God is—his unchanging nature. Regardless of circumstances and how you feel,
hang on to God’s unchanging character. Remind yourself what you know to be
eternally true about God: He is good, he loves me, he is with me, he knows what
I’m going through, he cares, and he has a good plan for my life. Job did this
when he said, "Still, I know that God lives, the One who gives me back my
life, and eventually he'll take his stand on earth. And I'll see him, even
though I get skinned alive! 27 see God myself, with my very own eyes. Oh, how I
long for that day! (Job 19:25-27) V. Raymond Edman said, “Never doubt in the
dark what God told you in the light.”
5) Trust God
to keep his promises. So don’t be troubled by trouble. Circumstances cannot
change the character of God. God’s grace is still in full force; he is still
for you, even when you don’t feel it. In the absence of confirming
circumstances, Job held on to God’s Word. He said, “I have not departed from
the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my
daily bread.” (Job 23:12). This trust in God’s Word caused Job to remain
faithful even though nothing made sense. His faith was strong in the midst of
pain: “God may kill me, but still I will trust him.” (Job 13:15).
(Taken
from Warren, Rick (2008-09-09). The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?
(p. 142). Zondervan. Kindle Edition).
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