How do you handle a really long trial? Initially, Job responded quite well to the tragedies God allowed. He lost his children, livestock empire, health, and support of his wife and friends. Yet his surrender and trust in the Lord melted away over time.
I can relate to this type of erosion of strength and hope. Can you? At the beginning of my Stage IV cancer battle with metastatic melanoma, I held up pretty good. Yet I folded under the relentless pain of the cancer and cures. I gave in to complaining and self-pity.
Job felt he deserved better and began chastising the Lord for injustice. Again, I relate as I questioned God about His mishandling of my purpose and potential as a young pastor.
Seeing God
So to reach Job, God challenged him to an intellectual duel about the origins and management of the universe. Job quickly realized he had nothing. He “repented,” or changed his mind about God and himself.
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore, I retract, and I repent, sitting on dust and ashes” – Job 42:5-6.
Job “sees” God, not physically, but His eyes were opened to God’s amazing ability to create and run His universe. Knowing God and knowing about Him are two different things. The path to truly knowing and experiencing Him entails pain, which strengthens our grip on God – or pushes Him away. As Paul said in Acts 14:22, “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.”
Trading comfort and convenience for the supernatural peace and joy of the Lord is a no-brainer!!
Takeaways on Job’s change of mind
- God NEVER fumbles His plans for us. We can trust Him!
- God has the right to allow trials in our lives. We can surrender to Him!
- God works everything to the good for His children. We can wait on Him!
Our Father is perfectly wise, powerful, and loving! Agreed? Do you need a change of mind about Him? Like Job, let’s allow our sufferings to point us to the joy of perfect surrender of truly seeing and knowing Him.
~~~~~~~~~
The first most important thing to know about God is to know Jesus as our personal Savior – more here!
