Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Job 4:3-7
The story of Job is a familiar one, regardless of what happened to Job, he was known to be a perfect, upright and righteous man; he had done no wrong in the sight of God. From the outside looking into Job’s life and from the appearance of things, it looked discouraging for Job. He lost his children, household and his substance. It would seem as if Job should be without hope because of his bleak circumstance. The fact of the matter is that God was counting on Job to be exactly who he said he was in lieu of all that had happened and was happening to him. In chapter 1, verse 12, the Lord told Satan, “Behold, all that he hath is in your power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand”; which tells me that the enemy can only go as far as God allows. But it also tells us that sometimes, God will allow hardship, and difficulty or misfortune to come upon us not because He seeks to destroy us or because He wants to see us experience unfavorable or harsh conditions, but because He knows us and our strengths, He is counting on us to come through and shine on His behalf.
As in the portion of scripture today, Job’s friends, the ones who were supposed to know him well; the ones who were supposed to understand who he was; the friends who probably said, I’ll have your back no matter what, were the same friends who turned on him and were set out to prove that Job must have done something wrong. Friends who had their own reasoning’s as to what “they thought” was happening and particularly, Eliphaz, who actually believed that the innocent don’t suffer and commenced in telling Job just that. However, my Bible tells me, But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you (I Peter 5:10).
Oftentimes, there will be those who won’t understand the why and the why not; the how and the how come of what God is calling for or doing in your life. Friends won’t understand your ethics and family will certainly question your sanity. It will seem strange and honestly crazy, is the word used most often, when you don’t have an explanation to give them. Throughout the Bible from Noah to Abraham and countless others, named and unnamed, were asked to do what seemed crazy at first thought. Especially, not knowing what the outcome would be, yet they obeyed God. They were truly walking by faith and living in hope and in expectation because they trusted God.
In the face of adversity, how many times have we lost sight of hope and positioned ourselves in fear. While honestly, this is not an easy task, it is our response to the suffering that matters most to God. We have to position ourselves in hope and stay right there until our change comes, until God has worked out His plan, until we have given God an atmosphere where He can work in and with us. We must have blind trust, faith of the evidence that is not seen. We can’t worry about it, complain about it, fret about it or be vexed about it, and certainly not be ashamed about it. The Word says, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Job had faith and hope in God in spite of the fact that He had no idea why God had allowed these things to happen. No, perhaps he didn’t handle it as smoothly as he should have, but who does? We are not perfect, yet we should be striving for perfection. A very good friend told me that “hope doesn’t look worried because hope looks like you are already there.”
It’s important to know that we must live in hope, in expectation not only about what God is going to do in us, but what He is doing through us, so that others will see and know that God is in control of all things concerning you. We need not analyze God or allow our friends or family cause us to question or to ponder what’s happening in our lives. If we know who we are in God, and who God is in us, there is no doubt that God is for us and that all things work together for our good (Rom 8:28). Through suffering comes fruit and an accomplishment of His purpose in us; it brings forth faith, patience, knowledge, and maturity. Which are exactly some of the fruit that God is asking us to have.
Be encouraged today and continue to stay positioned in hope. Like Job, God is counting on us!
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
The story of Job is a familiar one, regardless of what happened to Job, he was known to be a perfect, upright and righteous man; he had done no wrong in the sight of God. From the outside looking into Job’s life and from the appearance of things, it looked discouraging for Job. He lost his children, household and his substance. It would seem as if Job should be without hope because of his bleak circumstance. The fact of the matter is that God was counting on Job to be exactly who he said he was in lieu of all that had happened and was happening to him. In chapter 1, verse 12, the Lord told Satan, “Behold, all that he hath is in your power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand”; which tells me that the enemy can only go as far as God allows. But it also tells us that sometimes, God will allow hardship, and difficulty or misfortune to come upon us not because He seeks to destroy us or because He wants to see us experience unfavorable or harsh conditions, but because He knows us and our strengths, He is counting on us to come through and shine on His behalf.
As in the portion of scripture today, Job’s friends, the ones who were supposed to know him well; the ones who were supposed to understand who he was; the friends who probably said, I’ll have your back no matter what, were the same friends who turned on him and were set out to prove that Job must have done something wrong. Friends who had their own reasoning’s as to what “they thought” was happening and particularly, Eliphaz, who actually believed that the innocent don’t suffer and commenced in telling Job just that. However, my Bible tells me, But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you (I Peter 5:10).
Oftentimes, there will be those who won’t understand the why and the why not; the how and the how come of what God is calling for or doing in your life. Friends won’t understand your ethics and family will certainly question your sanity. It will seem strange and honestly crazy, is the word used most often, when you don’t have an explanation to give them. Throughout the Bible from Noah to Abraham and countless others, named and unnamed, were asked to do what seemed crazy at first thought. Especially, not knowing what the outcome would be, yet they obeyed God. They were truly walking by faith and living in hope and in expectation because they trusted God.
In the face of adversity, how many times have we lost sight of hope and positioned ourselves in fear. While honestly, this is not an easy task, it is our response to the suffering that matters most to God. We have to position ourselves in hope and stay right there until our change comes, until God has worked out His plan, until we have given God an atmosphere where He can work in and with us. We must have blind trust, faith of the evidence that is not seen. We can’t worry about it, complain about it, fret about it or be vexed about it, and certainly not be ashamed about it. The Word says, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Job had faith and hope in God in spite of the fact that He had no idea why God had allowed these things to happen. No, perhaps he didn’t handle it as smoothly as he should have, but who does? We are not perfect, yet we should be striving for perfection. A very good friend told me that “hope doesn’t look worried because hope looks like you are already there.”
It’s important to know that we must live in hope, in expectation not only about what God is going to do in us, but what He is doing through us, so that others will see and know that God is in control of all things concerning you. We need not analyze God or allow our friends or family cause us to question or to ponder what’s happening in our lives. If we know who we are in God, and who God is in us, there is no doubt that God is for us and that all things work together for our good (Rom 8:28). Through suffering comes fruit and an accomplishment of His purpose in us; it brings forth faith, patience, knowledge, and maturity. Which are exactly some of the fruit that God is asking us to have.
Be encouraged today and continue to stay positioned in hope. Like Job, God is counting on us!
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
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