Are you a modern day Job?

If you are not familiar with the book of Job, I highly recommend it for anyone going through a tough time.

Job was a man that certainly knew what it was to suffer. The book of Job in the scriptures is more than just patronizing literature. He'd suffered the works. He could describe intense inner suffering in the first person because he had walked the path himself. He had wallowed in the depth of the pit.....and yet through it all he put his trust in God.

Job lived in the land of Uz (not to be confused with the land of Oz!) This was no fairy tale land. He was a well respected citizen of Uz. He had 10 children, many livestock, acres and acres of land, a house hold of servants, and lots of money to spare. No one would deny that Job was "the greatest man among all the people of the East." (Job 1:3) He had earned the respect of everyone through hard work and honest dealings with others.

Then, one day, out of nowhere, adversity strikes him like a thunderous tsunami and destroys everything in his life. Job loses his livestock, his crops, his land, his servants and even his 10 children. Subsequently he loses his health which is his only means of providing for himself and his wife. His reputation is shot and even his friends think of him as a failure. And then to really turn the knife, his wife, the only one he was left to stand behind him, tells him "Are you still holding on to your integrity, curse God and die!" (Job 2:9) Job is left wallowing in the ashes using broken pottery to scrape the sores that covered his body from head to toe.

Now, try to empathize with Job for just a moment. What would it be like to lose everything in one foul sweep? Yet, with a quivering hand listen to what Job writes:

"Naked I came from my mothers womb and naked I shall return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. (Job 1:21)

Then God adds to this: "Through all of this Job did not sin nor did he blame God." (Job 1:22)

Could you handle this pain? Could you function under this type of loss and bankruptcy? Could you still praise God after burying your 10 children, losing your home and all your servants, and all you had spent a lifetime building?

Yet we read that Job's very response was not to give up but instead to turn to God. Instead of blaming, Job still looked to his Lord.

Have you ever felt like a modern day Job? One day you are living your life, just trying to make your way, when all of a sudden, WHAMMY, everything comes crashing down around you and you are left in a sea of pain and despair. You barely come up for air and then another wave hits, over and over again.....and you wonder if you will even survive.

We all have, or we all will have at some point, hard times in life. It's part of living. When your turn comes, remember God. Remember he holds your life deep within the palm of his omnipotent hand. God is there for you and he will never let you go. He is sovereign over every area of your life. So, cling tight to the one who knows the future; to the only One who can save you. Fall into his loving hands and surrender all your pain. He is waiting to restore you, just as he did Job. God is in control even if you have lost any grasp on the journey ahead. He knows the beginning and the end. Wait on him because he will deliver you in his time. That's all for now.