Just about everyone is dealing with a burden or struggle. Sometimes, we don't understand why God allows bad things to happen to good people. For me, the hardest thing is to see a child who is dealing with a chronic illness or condition - living in pain without much hope of a normal life. I do not understand why God allows that to happen - ever! But... then I remember Job.
Job was blameless and upright. He respected God and shunned evil. He was blessed with a wonderful family and great material wealth. In fact, the Bible says he was the greatest man among the people of the East.
One day when the angels came to present themselves to the Lord, Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through all the earth - going back and forth in it." You see, Satan was out looking for opportunities to destroy anyone who honored the LORD.
1 Peter 5:8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
Satan hated that God honored Job. He hated that Job respected the LORD.
At one time, Satan was a beautiful and powerful angel who served Almighty God. But Satan didn't want to serve God. Satan thought he deserved to be God. And he was just arrogant and prideful enough to think he could be the ruler of the Universe. He couldn't stand it that Jehovah God was more powerful and more honored and respected. He wanted to push God off His throne. So, he challenged God. Was Job really that devoted?
"Sure, Job praises You. You've put a hedge around him protecting his family and all his property. Everything is going great for old Job, but if life wasn't so good for him, he wouldn't praise You anymore."
Well, God knew Job's heart. He knew that Job would always serve Him, no matter how much suffering he had to endure. In my mind, I imagine one of those contests where each team selects his best, strongest player to fight the opposing team's best player. In this competition, it's Job against Satan. Poor Job didn't have a clue.
I wonder if Job had known how very much God believed in him, would the suffering have been easier for him to endure?
I don't know.
For me, it's hard to read the book of Job. I can't imagine losing my children and then losing everything I own, and I don't have nearly the material wealth Job had. The physical deterioration of Job's body must have been unbearable. Job was so confused.
He had done everything right, hadn't he? He was a good man who feared the Lord. Why wasn't God coming to his rescue? Surely Job deserved better!
I hope you have time to read these chapters. If time is an issue, just scan chapter 38 and get a feel for what God is saying. In a nutshell, His message is, "I AM GOD and you are not!" But if at all possible, read the whole book of Job. Those last few chapters just put me on my knees.
I don't know of anyone who has suffered more than Job, yet in the end,
after questioning God, Job admits:
"Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know."
We can ask why bad things have to happen, but when we start accusing God of being unjust, we may be stepping over the line. God is good. He is patient. He is loving.
If He allows suffering, I have to believe there is purpose to that suffering. I may never know what it is, but I just keep trusting in the One who sent His own Son to die for me - to take my place. That's all I need to know. He loves me, so I will trust Him.
Maybe, just maybe, God allows the suffering in your live because He knows you'll look to Him to get through it. My dear friend, Cayce has had adversity her whole life. Not just one thing, but several difficult ongoing challenges. Once I asked how she handled the adversity, and she said she always thinks of Job. She imagines God telling satan, "Have you considered my servant Cayce, there is no one on earth like her; she is blameless and upright, a woman who fears God and shuns evil." Cayce considers it an honor that God has trusted her with the burdens she carries. God believes in Cayce, just like HE believed in Job.
Does HE believe in me?
http://youtu.be/fktj1yOQ2nQ - My Redeemer Lives - Nicole Nordeman
Job 38 and following...
1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures My plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer Me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom
or gives the rooster understanding?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
Throughout chapters 39-41, the Lord continues to impress upon Job just who HE is. Job is completely humbled. Even a good, decent man like Job realizes that he is nothing when he stands before the Creator of the Universe. All his good deeds are like filthy rags - nothing he has done or will ever do will make him righteous before Almighty God. Isaiah 64:5 - "and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags"
I'm sure Job has his face to the ground as he answers God in chapter 42 verses 1-6:
2 “I know that You can do all things;
no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures My plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of You
but now my eyes have seen You.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Job was a godly man. He thought he was doing everything right. His heart's desire was to honor God. All the good he did wasn't enough. Just like Job, our good deeds and intentions will never be enough to make us worthy to stand in the presence of Holy God. God knew that. He knew we were just dirt. He loved us still. Through His Son, He made a way for us to be righteous.
At the end of the book of Job, we are told that the LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. We may have to endure great suffering and pain in this life because this world is not our home. Satan is prowling around seeking to bring us down. But there is Hope for the Christian. The LORD will bless the latter part of our lives with unimaginable blessings for all Eternity.
I can't help but think of how often we cry out to God questioning His love because He doesn't answer our prayers they way we think He should. Sometimes it's as if we think He doesn't care or that He can't be bothered to help us when we are struggling with too heavy a burden. We forget what He did to proof His unmatchable love.
There's a passage in Hosea that breaks my heart. Jehovah God is reminding the children of Israel that it was He who taught them how to walk, taking them by the arms like a Father does with his precious child. This is the picture God wants us to see - He wants us to know how very much He loves us. And those burdens...He carries them with us. He never leaves us to face them alone. Oh Lord, forgive my unbelief!
Hosea 11:3-5
New International Version (NIV)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.
Merciful Father, thank You for this image You've placed in my heart. The imagine of a loving and gentle Father who leads me with cords of kindness through anything that I may have to face. Thank You for loving me and for being so long suffering.
Holy Father, You are God Alone. There is no one like You. Thank You for Your great love and, oh, LORD, thank You for Your mercy when we question Your justice or goodness. Those times when I'm frustrated or scared because of struggles or sickness, and I wonder why? Holy GOD, Creator of the Universe, I put my hand over my mouth. I do not know what I'm talking about.You are Almighty God and my hope is in You.
I love You. I trust You. May Your will be done always - on earth as it is in Heaven. I pray this in the name of Your precious Son who died for me. Amen.
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