Book of the Bible: Job
Job was a very wealthy man that God had blessed tremendously. He had 10 children, many servants, and thousands of livestock animals. But we are also told from the beginning that Job was a righteous and godly man.
Satan approached God about Job and claimed that the only reason Job was faithful to God was because God had blessed him. Satan said that if all his possessions were taken away he would surely curse God. God disagreed because he knew Job’s heart, but he permitted Satan to test Job’s faithfulness.
Satan afflicted Job with several heartbreaking losses.
All his livestock was either killed or stolen
His servants were captured
His house was blown down and all his children were killed
He was given painful sores from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head
Everything was taken from Job. But how did he respond? Job had a wonderful perspective. He said that God was the one who gave him all he had so it was God who could take it away (Job 1:21). He continued to praise God even in the darkest of times. The people around him didn’t help much either. His wife encouraged him to curse God but he refused.
Three of his friends also came to comfort him. At first, they sat silently and mourned with him, then they started to talk it out with him. His friends tried to tell Job that his suffering was a result of his sins but he continued to defend himself saying he was indeed a righteous and blameless man. Talking things out with his friends didn’t help much, and that’s when he turned to God and began to talk to Him. Note, turning to God is always the answer. Nothing on Earth can meet our needs as the Lord can.
God reminds Job of his power and his deity. Job is comforted by knowing that God is still in control but God never gave him a reason for his suffering. Job would just have to be satisfied knowing that some things are meant for only God to know. By the end of the story, we see that God blessed Job with more children and more livestock than he had before. Job was a man that was tested greatly, but he was also a man that was incredibly blessed because he stayed faithful through his suffering.
We see that Jesus also went through suffering. Dying on the cross for the sins of the world was no easy thing, but he stayed faithful through his suffering. And because of that, when we suffer we will be rewarded if we stay strong. We may not know the reason for our suffering, but we always know that God is in control and His big picture is better than ours ever could be.
Key Takeaways:
Suffering will happen
Stay strong & turn to the Lord first
God is in control & He blesses after suffering
Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the life of Job this Sunday, both in-person and online.
Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.
To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.