Hi how are you all doing? I am well and still navigating this season we are in. One moment I am in a semi back to normal state and the next I am back where I started a few months ago- working from home. Well at least spring is coming so the weather will warm up.
I was thinking about the year that we have been in and in particular the word God gave me at the start of the year – that this is the year of restoration. Then I realised it has been like the book of Job – only not that bad. Let’s do a quick recap of the book.
In Job 1, the first verse starts off by saying that Job himself was described as blameless, upright, a man who feared God and shunned evil. I would like that description over me, wouldn’t you? For a man whose life was described like that, you would think that blessing would be over his life and trouble wouldn’t come. Job was indeed blessed with a large family and great possessions.
This sounds like some of us at the start of the year. We were looking forward to a new year of serving God, loving others and being blessed in the process. Expectation was over our life and most of us were looking forward to something eg the end of school, a new job, a holiday, our child getting married, more opportunities coming our way etc.
But something happened. Something also happened to Job. God bragged on Job to satan and then God gave permission to satan to test Job. You say God doesn’t do that! Let’s look at a New Testament verse for clarity. 1 Corinthians 10:13 in the NIV states:
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
This tells me that we will be tempted but God will make a way for us to come out from that temptation. He gives us the ability to say “no” because the Holy Spirit lives inside us.
Anyway, back to Job. Satan caused Job to lose all his possessions and his children in one day and later, on top of that, disease came upon his body. How did he endure through all that? The only thing he could do was trust God. His well meaning friends told him, he sinned somehow against God. His wife told him to curse God. But throughout it all, Job continued to trust in God and His sovereignty.
Through this time of hardship in our lives, we need to do the same. Don’t blame God – He doesn’t come to steal, kill and destroy -satan does. We need to continue to trust in God through this season and every other season in our lives.
What was the end of Job’s story? Elihu speaks up and proclaims God’s goodness and justice and he speaks against self righteousness. God then reveals Himself and questions Job. Job then repents of his self righteousness and is restored. He then prays for his friends and Job was then blessed twice as much as before- he received double the reward.
God has double reward in mind for us too. But first we need to allow this season to wipe away those things that are not of God. We need to allow God to build our character so we can carry the things of God into our future. We need to pray for our friends for them to receive this same blessing. But most of all don’t let go of God. He is all we need through everything because He is just and He is good.
This week let the words above speak to your heart. You are an amazing son/ daughter of God and God has a great plan still for your life. He has not left you.
Bless you heaps and keep living the life God intended for you.
Karen
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