Job

This past week I have been reading the book of Job. I have to tell you, it was not an easy book to get through! I really wanted to quit during the middle of the book, but in the end, I learned so much.

Chapter 1 begins with an introduction to Job. He was a very wealthy and righteous man. In fact, he was the richest and most godly man in the entire area. One day, Satan goes before God and God brags on Job. He says, "Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless-a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil."

Satan answers, by saying that of course Job is faithful! He has always been protected and blessed by God. Satan goes on to say that if God takes away everything Job has, then Job will surely curse God.  God gives permission for Satan to test Job, but he is not to harm him physically.

So one day, Job loses everything. His sons and daughters are killed. All of his animals are killed or stolen. Nearly all of his servants and farmhands are killed. When Job found out about this he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship God. He said, "I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!" Verse 22 goes on to say, "In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God."

The story gets alot worse from there. God is still pleased with Job because Job has not turned away from Him, so Satan asks to test Job further. He afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. His wife tells him to curse God! He tells her she is foolish and says, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

I don't really have the time or space to tell you everything else that happened, so I'll make it short- After all this, Job became pretty depressed. He did not understand why God was allowing all of this to happen to him. (Oh, how easy it is to trust God when everything is going well!) Three of his friends showed up and accused him of sinning. They thought that God was punishing him. Job continues to maintain his innocence, while he is cursing the day he was born and questioning why God was allowing all of this to happen. They go back and forth with this argument  for awhile.

After a few chapters of the back and forth, I was really ready to stop reading! I kept on, though, and I am so glad I did. Just when it was almost too much to take, God showed up! I suggest that everyone read chapters 38-42, because they are awesome! God comes and basically says, "I am God and I know best!" He created EVERYTHING on this earth. He thought out everything down to the last detail, so that life could function on earth. He laid the foundations of the earth. He told the oceans how far they could come. He commands the sun and the moon and the stars. He brings the snow, hail and rain. He makes the lightning appear! He provides everything for the animals he created. He says, "Everything under Heaven is Mine."

In the end, Job repents for not fully trusting God and God blesses him even more than he was blessed in the beginning.

I am so thankful that I did make through to the end of this book. Here are the lessons God revealed to me through it:

1. Sometimes bad things happen to good people! Never assume that because someone is going through a rough time that it is their fault. Sometimes it is their fault, but not always. Don't be like Job's friends.

2. If you are living righteously, Satan wants to destroy you. The closer you move towards God, the more Satan will test you. Hold firm to your faith! Trust and obey.

3. Most importantly, always remember that GOD is GOD! No matter how smart we think we are, He is still smarter. True wisdom comes only from Him! Though we may not understand His plan, we still have to trust. Though His Word, may not always be "politically correct", it is still HIS WORD. It is truth. Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Holding true to His Word will not win you popularity points, trust me. We still have to accept that He knows what He is doing. And since He is the creator, He gets to be boss!

Thank you, God for being who You are! Help me to always put my faith in your Word and to not let my own earthly fears get in the way of trusting You! You created everything in this magnificent universe! Help me to remember that You are the boss! I will never be as wise as You, Lord!