The story of Job can be disturbing. Job was completely committed to God. He was thankful for all that God had given him, and he was upright in every way. Satan asked permission from God to try Job's faith, and God was confident enough in Job to allow him to go through suffering. Satan wiped out Job's wealth and killed Job's children in a freak storm. When Job did not curse God, Satan was given permission to attack Job's health and give him painful sores.
Job never curses God, but he does have a hard time understanding why God would allow him to suffer. Job's friends try to comfort him, and they tell him it is a punishment and that he needs to confess his sins. Job does not agree. Sometimes pain and suffering is a punishment for OUR choices, and they are used to turn us around and bring us back to God. In the same way prosperity is not always a reward for being good (there are plenty of rich people with no integrity or relationship with God), our trials are not always a punishment for our sin.
There is an enemy out there who wants to put a wedge between us and God. He has a powerful arsenal such as depression, anxiety, fear, doubt, and physical pain. You can't control how Satan will attack, but you can control your response.
Satan is limited in what he can do because of Christ. If you have the power of God on your side, Satan can't get very far. Sometimes God allows suffering to come into our lives and the reason why is beyond our comprehension. Our part is to remain faithful and remember His promises.
Psalm 119:49,50 Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
When I first learned I had cancer, I had peace in my soul that it was not a punishment, but a trial that God had prepared me for my entire life. The physical pain, the fear of stage four cancer, and the anxiety about my family's future, was intense. Satan would have like it if I had stayed curled up in a little ball and kept to myself. God had a better plan for me! Like Job, I learned that when nothing else was left, God was enough! I learned to praise Him in the storm.
Job 2:10 Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?
Job 42:1,2 Then Job replied to the LORD : "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
Often times, if we allow it, the result of our trials is a deeper relationship with God. Those who endure the testing of their faith will experience God's great rewards in the end. I hope you read the story of Job and decide for yourself today to trust God no matter what happens.
Trusting & Surviving,
Sandy
