Job as a Model for Faith

Faith Filled Thoughts
November 23rd, 2009
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Thankfulness Series

The Last of the Thankfulness Series


Job as a Model for Faith -- Trusting God in Hard Times


Job Feared and Loved God and was Blessed
with Twice as Much as He Had Before His Tragedies
It was a bad day for Job.
His sons and daughters died in a freak wind storm
that collapsed the house where they were gathered.
Also, Job's employees were brutally murdered
and all of his livestock was destroyed or stolen.

After Job heard these reports,
he ripped his robe and shaved his head,
both outward indications of grief and mourning.
God's Word states that he then fell to the ground and worshiped.
Job said,
“Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave,
and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20, 21)

Most people in Job's circumstances would completely break down emotionally,
perhaps blame and curse God,
and descend into a long period of inconsolable depression.
Job lost everything but his immediate reaction was to worship God first.
He didn't blame God, nor did he curse God, as his wife suggested.
His devastating situation was overwhelming,
so he instantly yielded himself and his circumstances
to the One Who could actually do something about it.

Job's life was before the time of Moses and the written Law of God,
but Job
“was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1:1)
Job was a disciplined, prosperous and virtuous.
Although his fear magnetically attracted the evils that came upon him
(Job 3:25),
his love and reverence for God took precedence in his life. In the end,
God blessed Job with twice as much as he had before.

Not many people have lived through tragic circumstances such as Job's
and refused to become bitter and hardened.
Job serves as a unique example of a submissive attitude towards
God and one whose reaction in crisis sets a standard worthy of meditation.
Imagine Job's great loss compared to what most people consider as disastrous.

It is true that some people lose homes and possessions in terrible storms
and some lose family members in dreadful accidents.
Some people lose their job or their life savings due to ill health or other situations.
All of these hard times can be challenging
and stressful to the people going through them,
but few lose everything in one day.
Whatever challenges one faces,
the best reaction is positive action,
and the best action is to turn to God, to seek His help
, to go to the God Who can actually do something about it.

In Matthew 22:37,
Jesus quoted the first and great commandment.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

First and foremost, God wants peoples' hearts,
the innermost part of their being.
The heart is the center of the character of the individual.
The soul represents mind, will and emotion.
The mind as it is used in this verse
(as well as Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27)
refers to reflective thought, or one's exercised conscience.

Luke 10:27 adds the word “strength” referring to physical strength.
To love God with the whole being and every aspect
of one’s entire being is what God wants,
and it is what mankind actually needs to do to have a rich and satisfying life.
“We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19).

When the love relationship is present and appreciated by the receiver,
man, directed towards the Giver,
God, the human knows his life and times are in the hands of God,
and there is peace and rest,
instead of chaos and stress.
Although Job mourned his losses and struggled with questions,
he didn't stop loving God and believing
that God would bring him through.
God did not disappoint Job

He Brought Him Through It All…..

Remember….

God is God, and He is able


May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDg2Fnr6KRE