JUST LIKE JOB
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.” Job 1: 6-12
Job is someone we have either heard about or read about. We know the details of him being a rich man. He was a just man, upright. We also know that Job lost all that he had. But, let’s go back a bit. The Word tells us that Satan went to God and asked that the hedge that surrounded Job with protection be removed. Satan wanted to basically break Job to the point where he would simply walk away from God. The key point is Satan was well aware of how powerless he was in comparison to God. He knew that his tricks didn’t stand a chance, therefore he asked God for permission to test Job. Isn’t that something…? Can you imagine being “handpicked” by the enemy to, in a sense, be a part of an experiment to see just how far you could be pushed? Can you imagine being tormented each day all in an effort to see if you would turn away from God?
Well, guess what…as Christians, the enemy does set traps in an effort to lure us into his deceitful web. He uses all kinds of tricks in order to test our faithfulness. However, nothing gets past God because He is all knowing. God allows certain things to take place in our lives, not to hurt us but to help us. Each and every single time that we encounter an obstacle, we are also faced with making decisions. No matter how great or small our choices appear to be, we must decide for ourselves whether to seek the consult of God or to simply lean toward our own understanding, even though the Word advises not to. And there are other times when He shows us “point blank” the road to take, but we go another way. The enemy loves this because it allows him to “lay and wait”. It gives him an opening to get in and cause havoc in our lives.
Going back to Job and what he suffered through…reflect on the fact that he was an upright man, meaning he had done nothing wrong in the eyes of God. He was obedient and God saw him as “perfect”, without a blemish. Satan was fully aware of this which led him to “hand-pick” Job for his own purpose. Now, Job lost all he had, including his children. I’m sure that he was hurt, and very distraught over all of this. Did Satan care that Job was in agony? No, he didn’t. He wasn’t interested in comforting Job or helping him to heal. He only wanted to drive Job to the point where he cursed God. So, by the time Job’s wife came to him and said that he should curse God and die, Satan was on “cloud nine”. He was enjoying every moment of Job’s suffering. No matter what came against Job, he stood on God’s Word and remained faithful. In the end, he was rewarded because of his obedience. God blessed him with more than he’d had before.
How many of us can honestly say that we’re like Job? If we lost our homes, cars, jobs and families, would we still follow Jesus? Or, would we “jump ship” and take a ride with the enemy? The choices we make are reflective of our faith in God. So, if we believe in God and trust that He will take care of us in the worst of storms then nothing else would matter. It wouldn’t matter how little we were left with because our faith would give us the strength to move forward. Our faith in God and His works would enable us to rest through the storm.
I lost my vehicle in September of last year. It was the only means of transportation my children and I had. I can remember the morning I realized it had been repossessed. I walked outside to start it for work, and it wasn’t there. I looked around and around and around for it, thinking maybe I’d parked it in a different spot. Finally, it hit me that my truck was gone. I came inside and sat down. I cried for a while. I prayed with friends. And that was my process…my process. You see…? God was waiting for me to see what He was trying to show me. Eventually I began to see clearly. I recognized God in my situation, and calmness came over me. The lack of transportation was no longer my focus. The whole thing was a blessing in disguise. I no longer had to wonder or worry about how I would pay my truck note while completing an unpaid internship for graduation. I no longer had to worry about maintenance fees, and other issues relative to the general upkeep of the vehicle. The situation did present a number of issues for me and my children. However, God was there to bring us through each and every obstacle. He’s just that good.
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous…” comes to mind. All of the things I had to suffer through for the sake of righteousness. The loss I endured. Leaving my home and moving into a small apartment. Leaving an abusive marriage but still having love in my heart for my husband. These are all things that have transpired over the past year. And although my life is not free of blemish, God continues to bless my life. And no matter what I face, I’m never alone. God is always with me, providing whatever I stand in need of. I am so thankful to God for all that He’s done in my life. I will forever be grateful.

FORGIVENESS
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. “ Matthew 18: 21-22
How many times have you been the victim of someone else’s ill treatment? How many times have you been lied on or had your name meet you on the highway? No matter the sin, the hurtful deed causes a rush of emotion. We go through a series of questions in our minds: “What did I do to deserve this? Why is this happening? After all, I’ve done for him/her, how could this be happening? Should I confront him/her?”
Initially, we simply want to get to the root of the problem. For that brief period of time, we may overlook scripture because we’re angry. We’ve been done wrong and we want the “culprit” to suffer just as much agony as we are. Once the moment passes and we remember who we belong to, our thought process changes. We begin to cry out to God, asking for help in the situation. We call on Him to heal our wounded spirits. Our hearts become so engorged that we can hardly sit. And before we know anything, the words “Lord, have mercy” begin to roll off our tongue.
In August 2009, I was the victim of an attempted carjacking. What was so shocking was the fact that I was at home, under my carport, minding my own business. How dare this stranger come onto my property and try to take something I worked so hard for. That was one of the scariest nights of my life. I was sitting in my truck on the phone when I heard someone shake my door handle. I thought it was my son because he loves joking around. Just as I reached to unlock the door (without even looking up), something (Holy Spirit) told me to look around. When I turned, there was a man standing there with what appeared to be a knife. He demanded that I unlock the door. He began to beat the window as hard as he could to break the glass. But, God is my protector, my shield. He could not break it no matter how hard he hit. I sped out of the driveway as fast as I could. My family was inside the house so I started to pray as I called the police. I don’t remember ever praying so hard, so persistently. God encamped angels all around us and kept each of us safe. Replaying it all in my mind I cringed at the thought of my family being hurt. Some people asked why I didn’t blow my horn. If I had done that, my family would have come out and someone could have been injured. God was with me through the entire ordeal. What are the odds of any of us sitting in our vehicles with the motor running and windows up, especially with the price of gas these days? God prepared me for the enemy’s attack that night. He shielded me from his grasp and I am so grateful.
What came next was actually going to identify the young man as the carjacker. I found out that he was only 19 years old. Although overcome with emotion, I began to pray each time I thought of him. Not only did I pray for his safety while in jail but I asked God to help his mother through this ordeal. In order to pray for him, I had to look past what he did. I had to see him through my spiritual eyes. God allowed me to do that. God helped me to forgive him for that horrible night. I know that his coming to my house instead of the neighbors’ was God protecting him as well. God sent him to a home where someone would pray for him. And those prayers would help in some way, whether the young man actually realized it on that particular night or years after. I don’t harbor any ill thoughts or resentment toward s him, none at all. I think of what happened and I tell people about it. However, it’s not in a negative way. When I share that part of my life, it’s to show others how good God is.
I admit that it isn’t always easy to forgive people for what they’ve done to us. It takes courage because in order to truly forgive, we must leave the transgression in the past. When we do that, it causes us to move forward without actually paying attention to reminders of what happened years ago. It means not bringing those individuals who have done us wrong under subjection any longer. Forgiveness is one of the most honorable things we can do. Why? It’s honorable because it’s what Christ did. He was hung on a cross for things He didn’t do. Through all the bloodshed, Jesus was still able to forgive the sins committed against Him. The love in His heart never ceased to flow. In our daily lives, each of us must strive to be more and more like Christ.
We can achieve that by allowing God complete control over lives, giving Him authority over our actions. But before that can be done, we must first invite God into our hearts which enables love to transform us. Our thoughts begin to change. We are able to see individuals in a different light. Love will become a part of us and that love will give us the strength to forgive our brothers and sisters no matter what they’ve done. Remember “Love conquers all”, and “God is Love”.