s2s thought for the month

 

Why me?

 

Who among us would swap places with Job? - Poor old Job; if any had a tale of woe to tell, surely Job is the one.

“Blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil”; why would it happen to such a man?

But it did.

 

Job was going about his business on a day that was probably like any other day, when a series of messengers arrived, each bearing bad news; in fact bearing news that became progressively worse.

Having heard of the extent of Job’s family and possessions in the opening verses, suddenly everything was gone, even his children - more than enough to test the faith of any man.

 

If you’re familiar with the book of Job you will know of the day when satan joined the sons of God, presenting themselves before God, and you will remember the accusation that satan made concerning Job, “You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” (Job 1:10, 11)

 

Now, I imagine that we might all readily believe that. How would we react in the same situation? It hardly bears thinking about does it?

We don’t have to look too far to find someone who in the face of adversity will say, “So where is your God now?, why has He let this happen?”

But God knew Job better than satan did, just as He knows us better than we know ourselves; far from cursing God, Job said this, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed is the name of the Lord” (1: 21)

Could satan have been any further from the mark in his estimation of Job?

 

These weren’t just pious words either, later when Job himself was struck with boils from head to toe, and his wife challenged him, saying, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity, curse God and die!” (2: 9) he replied, saying this, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”

 

Each time I read this passage, I feel that the message is driven home anew; if we accept all that is good from God, what makes us think that we are SO deserving as to avoid any kind of adversity? Yet, at some time has each one of us asked, “Why me Lord?”

Satan’s claim fell flat - Job didn’t curse God to His face. On hearing of his loss of family and possessions, and then when he was physically afflicted, he remained faithful and we read, “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” (1: 22), and, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (2: 10)

 

When life is going well it’s so easy to declare how good God is, how He blesses us every day of our lives, but how quickly we turn that around when an obstacle is suddenly thrown into our path.

Job demonstrated his integrity in that he was faithful to the first words we read about him - I wonder how we might measure up?

 

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name

was Job; and that man was blameless and upright,

and one who feared God and shunned evil”

                                                                       (Job 1: 1)

 

May God bless you.