Encouragement
OUR FRIEND JOB
03/08/08
JOB was a bible’s man, who was stalked by devil, with authorization from God. This man loses everything in one day, only remained his wife and 3 friends. These 3 friends and his wife accused to job to be a sinner(the most common believe was “bad things just hit bad people”. Nowadays some people believe in the same way).Job face up their criticism with his faith and he tried to understand why God was punished him.
Job believed that God was the only source of punishment. In the Job’s mind was not possible suffering as a result of living in this world. The big struggle in Job’s mind was why bad things happen to good people. Nevertheless Job kept his faith without stain. Job Showed how People can go through suffering with their faith in God, In the Job’s case this God was Righteousness. Finally Job never understood that God was not source of suffering. He knew deeply the God’s character.
We are going to take a look about Job’s story in the bible
Job 1
Prologue
1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
Job's First Test
6 One day the angels [a] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan [b] also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
8 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."
9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
13 One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
20 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. [c]
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
There is some facts in our live can be source of anxiety, fear, depression and emotional instability. These facts have some characteristics:
1. YOU lost your goal.
2. YOU lost your tools (your profession is not anymore valuable).
3. YOU lost everything related to social skill (lost your job and other things important before the society’ eyes).
4. YOU must change your Life’ style (your routine must change due to condition had changed).
5. YOU MUST accept your responsibility (your life had changed because of you took a bad decision or you took a decision too late, you did not catch an opportunity).
Going deep over each point, we think, when you do not know where you go, the fear start to be your master, in this kind of situation, any route you take, the fear will always be your master. Additional if your self-esteem is based in what you have and not what you are, each change in your life will take time and pain. Follow the track, when we lost our tools, this means “I need to change my tools” it does not means “I run out of tools”.
In general speaking, life in this world has a lot surprises, we can not take anything for sure, the fact that you know the news faster than before, it does not mean world had changed , in the inner part of the world always have been the same.
When we go through hard times, we start to curse the day you were born (Job did it), you start to think you have done something bad (no wrong), and you are paying this (as Job’s friends told him). You start to think about your life is worthless (as Job’s wife told him), you start to think as so many people who live from the world’s options that the world is over.
But there is some principles does not change regardless of technology, time or ages.
1. When you lost everything and just remained your relationship with God, you will find that this is only thing you need.
2. When your goals are in God, you have not wrong way, you are going back where you came from.
3. Pain is inevitable but misery is optional.
4. All the time remember Jesus, he is the only one who gives abundant life.
Ecclesiastes 12
1 Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
"I find no pleasure in them"-
5. God is peace in middle of the storm, God bless people because He wants to answer our pray, but God does not bless people in order to give them advantage over somebody else, God’ blessing always are according to universal rules of love and justice.
6. Your pray is less than God can provide, God always send the best one, because God is righteous and he forgive our lack of wisdom in our pray. Remember what Jesus said about the pray:
Matthew 6:25-34 (New International Version)
Do Not Worry
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
7. Like Job, who acknowledged God’s character, he guess there may be something which produce suffering, but unfortunately, Job never found the premise about this world “if you live in this world you are exposed to many bad things and bad things are temporal”.
8. You are responsible before God for decision and action, but you get a good advantage, God always watch over our intentions, He does not watch over result.
9. When you walk long time with God, you start to acknowledge God’s character and you do not get confuses about circumstantial things. You never lost God’s love regardless of what you go through, it does not a matter if you win or lost.
10. When you acknowledge God’s character, you always give thanks to God for each situation in your life, this add live to yours years, may be it does not add years to your life.
11. Our strength came from: I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12).
12. God told Joshua “Be strong and courageous”. God never told him “sit down and see how I conquer this Land”, this means that God bless people when they walk in His ways, How is the blessing? You and I do not know, but we are sure about it is going to be something good for us.
At the last, you can believe me, I know what I am talking about I have lost everything which I live for in the last 38 years, I have lost my civil rights, I have been doing things that I even were in my nightmare , but I found God in each situation of my life. I will not change this experience for my former life, I do not know the future, because I live today and today God is with me, I have learned that each day bring his own problem.
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