We know from the words of Jesus in John 16:33 that “‘Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.””
We know from the words in James 1:2-4 that when we face trials and troubles we should consider it pure joy because: “when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. “‘
We need to remember that just because we are living a good life and seem to be checking off all the boxes, just like Job there could be times of testing or attacks of the devil. So just as this morning’s reading from God’s Word in Job and the associated devotional, instead of asking “Why Me?” we can realize what God’s Word has told us and instead ask “How will I respond when suffering knocks on my door?” Let’s remember that Suffering is a byproduct of the sins of man. We can only control our responses and actions, and even if we check all the boxes like Job did who got the description ‘There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. ‘ Job 1:1
Let’s be the dads who consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds because we know that our faith will be strengthened through the test and when endurance has finished developing we will be perfect, complete, and lacking nothing!
Let’s be the dads who lean in and trust God rather than our own understanding because we have God’s Word that tells us to take heart because Jesus has overcome the world and so we can take heart in spite of and because of the trials and sorrows that come our way!
Let’s be the dads who are looking for a better way to respond when the knock comes on the door!
I shared in From 2005 to Eternity over the years how my mindset changed back in 2013 from dreading reading Job and how it was speaking to what I was going through in the moment to anticipating how God was going to use it for His glory and my future. This morning I shared the following but there are many other posts over the years on the subject.
For years when I would read through the Bible in a year, I would cringe when I got to the book of Job because I tended to have to work through some pretty trying things around that same time. It wasn’t till 2013 when I had a transformation as I was getting ready to transition Jobs I happened to be in the book of Job (which when I started felt, oh no, now what) but on my last day on one job my reading came from Job 42:12 where I received the message of hope and encouragement that the second half of my life was going to be twice as good as the first. I had lunch with a friend and when I told him, he was like, that’s not what it says and so I compared the information and he affirmed that what I was saying was accurate.
‘So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. ‘Job 42:12
I used Job 1’s information to prove my point:
‘He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area. ‘Job 1:3
Ever since then, I have been able to cling to James 1 whenever I got to the point of reading the book of Job.
Are you able to consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds?
Let’s be the dads who prove like Job did that God can depend and trust us!
- ‘Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” ‘ Job 1:8
- ‘Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.” ‘ Job 2:3
