Job: Trial 1

If I was to go around asking people who in the Bible sounded like they lived a hard life, I’d imagine Job would probably be one of the top ones on the list. I’m not just saying that because Job is a pretty well known person in the Bible. I’m also saying that because the trials we are aware that he had to endure were beyond what a lot of people could probably handle. In all honesty, out of everyone out there, God was the only one who knew that Job was faithful enough to endure it all.

The first trial that Satan put Job through was wiping out his wealth, possessions, and children. Think about how painful that would be. Job 1:1-3 says, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.” Can you imagine what it’d be like for someone who was used to owning all of that to be stripped of it all at once. The loss of someone’s house and possessions are one thing. The loss of someone’s family is a whole ‘nother thing. Yet Satan did them at the exact same time. Satan didn’t even do it at little bits at a time. His animals, property, servants, family, everything that he was used to owning was stripped of him in the same day. Even worse, that was all a part of the first trial that Satan put in his life. There were many more yet to come.

How did Job respond? Job passed the test. Job fell to the ground and worshipped God. He didn’t curse God or anything. It didn’t cause Job to sin to any extent. Instead, Job finishes his prayer with, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20d)

Wow. When you look at his life, it can be really hard to see God in it. Was God actually in his life during it? That’s an easy question to ask, especially since God let Satan have control over what was going on with Job at the time. The truth is, yes. God was in his life during it. Something as tough as what Job had to go through could only be endured if God was a part of it. The reason that Job didn’t lose faith during it was because Job was a righteous man. God considered Job a righteous man because of how strongly Job held God to his heart.

Whenever life may seem so difficult that you just can’t see God in it, look at whether you have kept your faith or not. If you haven’t lost faith, that’s because you are still allowing God to be a part of your life. It shows that you are willing to let God be the one in control of your life.

Let God be your hope. It’ll prevent you from losing faith. Don’t think of anger at God as your solution. Run to God. If you have the faith to run to God, the faith to let him be a part of your life, and the faith to choose God as your source of hope, you can know that God is with you. To add to that, if you can handle situations that require making those decisions, then God took the time to prepare you for it.

No matter how hard it may be to see God in your life, God has good plans ahead for you… just like he had for Job.