- When our lives are easy, it is easy to take God for granted. It’s easy for us to go about our day-to-day with ease, not needing to pray or ask for guidance. But when our lives become difficult, when we begin to suffer through trials, our hearts can harden towards God. Sister, this is precisely what the book of Job guides us through. What does it look like to worship God, even in the hardest times? When life feels brutal and unfair, how do we rejoice? Should we remain thankful to God? Should we cry out in anguish? Or should we bury our thoughts and pretend to be happy with God? These are all hard questions to answer, but they are dealt with as God takes Job on a journey–one that is extreme in every way. Join us as we explore the book of Job chapter by chapter. Ask yourself what it might look like to continue to include God in all the wild seasons of your life. Read each chapter with us each week, and we’ll work through it together.
As we are introduced to Job, God has provided him with a truly comfortable lifestyle. Not only does he have a ton of livestock, but he also has a large, loving family. But just as quickly as we are introduced to his comfy lifestyle, Satan intercedes. The enemy prompts with a leading question,Prayer. The simple idea of prayer can lead every person down very different paths. For some, it is a bright beacon of hope. “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. 11But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.’” (Job 1:9-11, NIV). This is a question that finds its way into many of our hearts. What happens when God takes away the things I love most? Would I turn to God in faith? Or turn away from Him in anger? Just as the Lord knows your heart, He knows Job’s heart. So, He takes away all that Job has: his farms, his livestock and his family. All in an instant, Job learns that everything he had was wiped away.
Sister, this is a step away from the light-hearted God we know today. But yet, He is the same. Throughout this story, His love for Job will still shine. But the focus here is on Job’s initial reaction. He falls to his knees in worship, “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” (Job 1:22, NIV).
As you go through this week, think about your response to this happening. What would you do if God wiped everything you had from the earth? What is the purpose of putting Job through that suffering and torment?
It’s a humbling thought, isn’t it?
Sister, remember that God is all-knowing, loving and graceful. In this moment, He has chosen Job to help guide us into a deeper understanding of who God himself is. Ponder these things and discuss them with a friend. Next week, we will dive into chapter 2 of Job and learn more about what God has planned for Job’s life.
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