Job 2: 10
... Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Job was an amazing man, and a good example to follow.
He had been so wealthy that he was "the greatest of all the men of the East."
His family, his sons and daughters, all got along well together and honored one another.
And as the priest of the family he continually cared for their spiritual well-being (1:4-5).
But Satan accused Job of having selfish and self-serving motives. Satan cannot see into our thoughts and hearts, as God can, so He proved to him that Job really did love God, and allowed him to "ruin him without cause" (2:3).
And at the end, God rewarded Job with twice as much of everything he had lost, even giving him more children, everything even better than what he had before (42:10, 12-15).
This story teaches us several things. Among them are:
Bad things do happen to good people, not only as a consequence of our rebellion.
Satan cannot hear our thoughts or see into our hearts, as God can. He can only hear our spoken words, our tone of voice, our body language, and our history. So he deceives us into thinking he can also hear our thoughts. We need to remember this.
This World is our school--all of life's lessons are for us to learn. They are meant for our benefit.
And God rewards for faithfulness and loyalty to Himself. He is the only One Who can move events in the direction He has planned, and cause to happen all the things that will show His power, wisdom and lovingkindness.
God will also allow us to suffer the consequences of our poor choices, to teach us to do better.
And He will also provide the sacrifice to atone for our errors, our missing the mark, our sins.
God is Love, and everything He does comes from His Love, so when He allows us to go through suffering, anguish, sickness, and sorrow, it's all so we will learn to trust Him more. To teach us humility and patience and perseverance. To mold and make us into the very image of His Son, our Savior.
So when we feel the pressure of circumstances crushing us, God is making us into His diamonds. Trust Him, and never give up. He will reward us at the end of it, as He did Job.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
