Last night I read the book of Job and was taken aback by the turn of events that left a man devastated by unthinkable tragedy. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
Most of us can't relate to the depth of Job's suffering. He had 11,000 livestock, enough hired help to man a mansion and most of all, a wife and 10 children. And then Satan came in and wrecked his life killing his seven sons and three daughters, the servants and his animals.
Job lost it all, but he never gave up on God.
I don't know about you, but I haven't always responded to hardships and pain in my life with unwavering faith. I sometimes doubted God, took matters into my own hands, and did whatever I could do to make things better. But nothing changed until my heavenly Father said that's enough. He not only rescued me from the enemy, but from myself.
Look at how God blessed Job after his ordeal: "Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.
"He also had seven sons and three daughters. In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations" (Job 42: 12-13, 15-16, NKJV).
God is the same today, yesterday and forever more. He is faithful and will never change. If He delivered Job from the grip of the enemy and blessed his life, He will do the same for you.
So be encouraged and keep your focus, and don't let the enemy make you curse the Father. He tried that trick with Job, but Job refused to "charge God foolishly," and we must respond in the same manner.
Brian Zahnd, founder and senior pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Mo., recently released a book based on David's response to the tragedy at Ziklag. What to Do on the Worst Day of Your Life is a must-read, and if you want to be uplifted and learn how to respond to hardships, I suggest you read it today. To get your copy click here.
Valerie G. Lowe is the editor of spiritledwoman.com and associate editor of Charisma magazine.
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