Trouble and suffering are a part of life, and we all must cope with them sooner or later. Maybe some of you are dealing with an incurable disease. Others may be facing a financial crisis. Perhaps you have been crippled in some kind of accident. Do you feel like you are on a dead-end street and there is no hope? What are you going to do?
Let’s consider Job. Satan appeared before God and God said, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
Satan responded with several accusations:
1) Job doesn’t serve You because He loves You. He is serving You because You have put a hedge around him and blessed him abundantly. In other words, “Job is serving You for what he can get out of You.”
Satan was given permission to attack Job and in a single day, he lost his property, his children, and his health. We read in Job 1:20-21 NIV, “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 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.’”
Think of it – Job suffered these major losses and yet, he chose to worship God.
2) Next Satan told God that Job was serving Him because he feared for his life.
So God gave Satan permission to afflict Job with boils all over his body. Still, Job did not break. Then his wife encouraged him to curse God and die, but he would not do that. Next, three of his friends came to comfort him – basically, they told Job that his disasters were due to some sin in his life. Some comforters they were!
What kind of a man was Job? Let’s take a closer look at him.
· He was a blameless man – in the eyes of God, the eyes of others, and even in his own eyes.
· He was also an upright man. He was straight and genuine and right in his relationships with others.
· He revered God. In spite of his losses, he worshipped the Lord. Can you and I do the same?
· He wanted no part in evil. In fact, he actually turned away from it. There was no room for compromise in his heart and life.
Job was a man greatly blessed by God.
· God told Satan there was not another man like him.
· He had great wealth.
· He was blessed with a wonderful family.
· Job served as a priest over his family (1:5)
· If ever there was a successful man, Job was that man. But he was not spared heartache and loss.
In spite of all the setbacks, Job chose to worship God. Are we willing to let our troubles bring us closer to God? Here are some ways that you can fortify your life:
1) Have quality time with the LORD and let Him speak to you from His word.
2) Make sure that in your prayer time, you don’t do all the talking. James says we must be “quick to listen”.
3) Regularly meet with others to worship the LORD and be enriched with fellowship with other believers.
4) Develop close relationships with other believers. The Holy Spirit has given them spiritual gifts that you need. They also need the benefit of the spiritual gifts that He has given to you.
5) Remember, the LORD has a multitude of angels that He is willing to send to help you in times of stress and turmoil.
6) Determine that you will live daily under the guidance of your Savior and be strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Folks, we can worship in the midst of trials, trouble, and turmoil, if we remember that God loves us and wants His best for us. Lean on His everlasting arms.
For His glory,
Pastor Leonard
