If you are familiar with the story of Job in the Old Testament of the Word, you know that Job was the richest man in the East, who one day lost everything that he owned, including his servants and his children.
Many people would have reacted very differently, but here is how God’s servant Job reacted to this devastating loss: “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly (Job 1:20-22 KJV).
Four very important things happened in these verses after Job was informed of his loss:
Job bowed down and worshipped the Lord.
He realized that he did not bring anything into this world when he was born; therefore, he would not be taking anything with him when he left.
He knew that only God has the power to give and to take away.
He blessed the name of God instead of turning against Him.
Things got so bad for Job that after he was covered from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head in boils, his own wife told him, “…Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die” (Job 2:9 KJV). There are those husbands who may have gone along with what she said. Some would have entertained a philosophical conversation. Then some husbands would have simply ignored her with no other reaction or action. However, look at what Job said to his wife: “But he said unto her. Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips” (Job 2:10 KJV). In Job’s response to his wife, he let her know:
She was talking as if she were a foolish woman.
Just as God allows good, He also allows evil.
Even though he was in physical and emotional misery, he was not going to speak against God.
Therefore, whatever God takes away, He will replace it. Whenever God replaces what you lost, it is going to be so much better than what He took if you trust and believe in Him. He is a God of love and restoration, and He will reward those who diligently trust what He does. If you continue to read the story of Job, you will find that God blessed him mightily for his faithfulness. Job 42:10 (ESV) confirms: “When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!” Job 42:12-13 (ESV) further confirms, “So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now, he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters.” Just look at God…!
Job said in 14:14 (KJV), “If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change comes.” Waiting for his change to come is exactly what Job did. If the time should ever come again when you lose something or someone, and Satan is leading you to give up on God, study this story of the servant Job’s faithfulness to the Lord and this modern one that I found on Facebook. Then pray effectively and fervently, and wait on God to show up and show out!
“A man was working at a job making $17.25 per hour. He bragged on God for blessing him with such a job. After three years on the job, the man was informed he would be demoted. A week later, he was informed his pay would decrease by $5 per hour. The following week, he was informed he would be terminated. The very next day, he applied to a company and was offered $50 per hour as a supervisor. The moral: Sometimes God allows you to be knocked down so He can move you up…Trust His Work.” Won’t He do it!
Have a wonderfully blessed week, and never leave home without Him!
(Anna Bright is a minister and educator in Walterboro. She can be reached at abrightcolumn@lowcountry.com)
