JOB MOMENT – (01JUN19) The book of Job explores the issue of
human suffering and God’s justice as it pertains to the righteous. Job is counted
by God as being a righteous man who is beyond reproach. Yet, Job is not present
to hear this dialogue between God and Satan concerning his character. Satan, in
the story, presents himself alongside the angels before God and they have a
discussion about Job. When God asked Satan about his previous whereabouts,
Satan responded that he had been roaming the earth. God never poses a question
that He does not already know the answer to, but this was a leading question
for God to go into his next one, “Have you considered my servant Job?” God
already knew the answer to the question, but for conversational purposes, God
allowed Satan to speak what He already knew was on his mind. Satan’s response
was one that lets the reader know that he was already well aware of who Job was,
and that he knew there was a hedge of protection around Job. How did Satan know
this when he is not able to be omnipresent? Either he or his demons may have
tried to breach God’s protection before but was unable to. As a result, he knew
that he needed PERMISSION to do so.
Satan challenged God regarding Job’s faithfulness due to His
divine protection. Satan told God that anyone would find it easy to serve Him as
long as he was being blessed, but should those blessings ever leave, Job would
show Him where his true loyalty resided. God took the challenge and allowed
Satan to do what he wanted with the exception of touching Job’s physical body
the first time around. On the second encounter, after a lack of success despite
his attacks, God allowed Satan to afflict Job’s body. The only stipulation was
that he could not kill him. Satan attacked Job’s wealth, family and health.
Everything that Job had was gone. Nonetheless, Job remained faithful despite
not having an understanding as to why he was being afflicted. He did not know
that it was only a test and that God was the Administrator who already knew what
the outcome would be. Job was unaware that God had bragged to Satan about him
and trusted in his faithfulness to Him. All Job could see was his present
situation because he could not see the forecast.
Many people have asked the question of why God allows bad
things to happen to good people. This question often comes when a five-year-old
child has to become a patient of St. Jude’s after being diagnosed with cancer.
A couple may have had several miscarriages and can never seem to have a child
of their own as they watch other married couples have multiple children. The
person who has worked harder than anyone else on the job keeps getting passed
over for that job promotion. The Christian who has been accused unjustly and
now sits on death row all because of her faith. The child who has lost his innocence
due to the sexual perversions of an adult. Yes, many people have asked the
question of why the innocent are made to suffer. Yet, we must know that God is
just, and He is good. We do not deserve anything in and of ourselves, but all
that God does is for His glory. Suffering cannot always be explained in a manner
that will appease the human mind, but we must have faith to allow God to be
God. The Bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the
evidence of things not seen. You cannot see faith just like you cannot see the
wind, but you must have it no less in order to please God. Therefore, even
though we may not always see and feel God in our situations, we must hold on to
faith to know that He will bring us to a desired end. Something to ponder…
QUESTION OF THE DAY – (01JUN19) Job’s wife watched as her
husband suffered with soars all over his body. You can possibly imagine the stench
that came with them oozing out pus as he scraped them with the broken pottery
that he found. Job probably itched day and night, for there was no Neosporin, Benadryl,
or other modern-day medicine during his time. The sight of him was probably
repulsive in that his three friends did not even recognize him from the
distance when they first saw him. There is no mention of his former associates
being around until a fourth friend comes to the scene, which shows that he was
in isolation. Job’s wife had lost all that she had as well, including her
children, but she was not as submissive as Job. The hurt, anger, and even
bitterness came out when she told Job to curse God and die. She questioned his
reason for being loyal to a God whom she felt had been disloyal to them. Job, however,
being the voice of reason, rebuked her by saying that one cannot accept the
good from God but never expect any trouble. Job’s wife must have felt that she had
been through enough just by watching her husband, but Job still did not sin in
what he said.
Can you put yourself in Job wife’s shoes? Can you imagine
how she must have felt by being a mother who lost all of her children in a
single day? Yes, one can truly empathize with what she had gone through. Not
only had Job lost everything, but she did as well. She watched the man whom she
loved that was once strong, respected, and financially secure be reduced to
frailty, loneliness, poverty, and grief. She had to see his misery, hear his
cries, know his inner struggles, and unfortunately know that there was nothing
she could do to ease his suffering. Job’s wife is barely mentioned with the
exception of the two verses where she gives Job her opinion and he rebukes her.
Nonetheless, one can feel her pain as well as we study the story of a righteous
man who loses it all. Because they were husband and wife, his pain was also her
pain, but his faith was stronger than hers.
Sometimes, we have to tune out others so that we can remain
in faith when trouble hits just as Job did with his wife. Everyone will not
understand why we hold on to faith when the outlook seems bleak. The Bible says
that spiritual things are spiritually discerned and unless you have an
understanding for God, others’ lack of faith can hinder yours. When you are
going through trials, everyone does not need to be in your ear. Sometimes, you
may not even be able to discuss what you are going through with people who are
not spiritual warriors. The Bible says that iron sharpens iron and in times of
trials, you need an Aaron (a priest) and an Hur (leader) to hold your arms up
until the battle is won just as Moses did. Aaron was an intercessor so you need
someone to intercede in prayer for and with you, as well as an Hur who was a
leader and can help guide you when you feel spiritually blind and crippled. We
can all feel like Job’s wife did in times of trials, but can you allow God to
send you support to hold you up? It will be well worth it in the end. Something
to ponder…
JOB MOMENT – (01JUN19) After seven days of silence with his
friends, Job finally speaks. He cursed the day that he was born and wished that
he had never been conceived. He wished those who claimed that they had the
ability to curse days and conjure up Leviathan (crocodile) were able to
actually do so and turn back the hands of time. Instead of cursing God, he
prayed for death where he would finally have peace for his weary soul. His
sadness was his daily bread and his tears was his drink. The very thing that he
feared would happen to his children did even though he offered sacrifices on their
behalf. He had no peace or rest at all.
Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends, decided to speak, but he
would have been better off keeping his mouth closed. He reminded Job of how he
had encouraged others, but when he found himself going through trials, he was
discouraged and did not rely on the very faith he claimed to have. Eliphaz even
seemed to imply that he had gotten a Word from God in the form of a spirit who
questioned if anyone could be more righteous than God purer than Him. Eliphaz alleged
that God did not trust His servants and claimed that His angels were capable of
error; therefore, how much more should Job think that he was righteous. Yet,
there was something wrong with Eliphaz’s ideology.
Just because someone is an encourager of others does not
mean that they will never need to be encouraged themselves. We can look at the
Prophet Elijah who had just went toe-to-toe with the prophets of Baal, yet,
when Jezebel threatened his life, he ran and was greatly discouraged. God did
not rebuke him, but fed him instead. Sometimes, those who lead and pour into
others need to be refilled and poured back into. Yes, leaders go through trials
and need encouragement too. Unfortunately, many Christians look at those who
serve in the 5-fold ministry as being super humans, and somehow are beyond the
challenges of life. The Apostle Paul often asked the church to pray for him as
he prayed for them. We as leaders need your prayers constantly because we
bleed, we hurt, we feel pain too.
Eliphaz seemed to imply that He had received a Word through
a vision that was meant for Job. If this is the case, who was the one speaking?
Would God have given him a word to make Job feel as if he had somehow done something
wrong and considered himself above God? No! Only the devil would try to plant
seeds of doubt in Job’s mind to make him feel as if he had done something wrong
to deserve what he was going through. Another reason to question who was
actually speaking to Eliphaz was that there were two things that was mistaken concerning
God’s lack of trust in His servants and the ability of angels to commit error.
First, God knows everything. Therefore, He knows who He can and cannot trust.
There is nothing that takes God by surprise even when we fail. So, can God
trust His servants? Yes, He can, and He does. Let’s take Moses for example. God
spared Moses’ life because He knew that He had a servant whom He could trust.
Although Moses was not perfect, God trusted Him enough to give him His
commandments not once but twice. Second, God’s angels do not commit errors, but
the fallen ones are the ones who did. Satan knows this because he was one of
them. Therefore, only he would be the one to mix truth with error.
A lesson that needs to be highlighted here is the need to be
cautious with words that people claim are from the Lord. God does indeed use
people as prophets and prophetess to speak through, but everyone who claims to
have divine revelation is not hearing from the Lord, but a familiar spirit. One
cannot judge someone based on church attendance, speaking in tongues, or how
many classes of Greek and Hebrew they have taken to know if they have a real relationship
with the Father. Every Word that is professed to come from God should be
supported through scripture and confirmed between YOU and GOD. Sometimes,
people mean well, but they talk out of their own heads. This is why it is vital
to have a relationship with God for YOURSELF. Although not everyone tries to
intentionally mislead others, people are still subject to human error.
Therefore, it is important to be like the Bereans and be students of the Word.
If Job had listened to his friend, he would have believed that his friend was
getting a word of rebuke from the Lord. That was not the case. When you know
that you have done all that you can do…just stand still and know that God is
God. Something to ponder…
