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."What if you were Job in this situation?
God wants the best for us in our life, but sometimes the best is hard. God allowed Satan to take everything away from Job that he treasured: his family, his livestock, his home. He was all alone, except for God. Although Job endured these trials, he never turned away from his faith in God. As I read that story this morning, I couldn't help but wonder how I would react in that situation. What if God's words were, "Have you considered my servant Jessica?" Would I continue to stay strong in my faith even if God allowed me to endure tribulations in my life? Yes, I hope with all of my heart that I would, but what about when I'm in that situation? All of us have gone through various trials in our life; some are smaller than others. But it all depends on our reaction. Do we use those hardships to strengthen us in our relationship with Christ?
God isn't sitting there thinking, "Hmm... what can I do to make her life miserable.." the trials He puts us through have a purpose. They are meant to challenge you and grow you closer to the Lord. At the end of Job's trials, he still had faith in God. And God blessed him!
Job 42:10-15 (New International Version)
The LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
12 The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
Hebrews 10:36 says that "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."
Persevering through trials is hard. But if you are living in God's will, then you will reap a bountiful harvest at the end of your race, whether you receive it here on earth or in heaven. I pray that all of us will stand strong against the devil, so that he will not have a foothold into our life, or slip through a crack in our armor. Stay strong! :)
Your Sister in Christ,
Jessica
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