Back again-the Book of Job
I mentioned I have changed how I read the Bible? Each night I hold the Bible in my hands as I close the day in prayer and I pray for God to guide my hands and to speak to me. This new habit has pulled me in to not just reading a chapter or verse, but finding it difficult to set the Bible down. I am definitely in a season of hungering to learn more. Last night, as I sat in prayer, I open the Bible and it took me towards the end of Job, not the beginning, but the end. I read how God reminded Job that He is all powerful and reminds Job to not question Him. He reminds Job of His works. Finally, God restores Job with “his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10, NIV). In this season, I have read the Book of Job several times and compared to myself to Job as well as his friend. I have said that my life felt like the life of Job and then corrected myself, because as much as I am dealing with trials, I am still very much in a season of abundance. You see, I can dwell on the negative or I can recognize the blessings that God has and continues to provide.
How do I trust God when things are hard?
Today, I sense a kindred spirit in Job. As I read this morning, I was reminded of the dearest gift of my prayer warriors and the recognition of the greatness of God-who am I to question His power or His plans? Job reminds us that not all that happens in life is cause and effect but that there is peace when you trust in God-even in the hardest days. I sit here questioning why things are happening and realizing that I may never know the why. This is not for me to “fix”, no matter how hard the day may seem, I am not standing alone. God still has me-when all else feels taken away, He has never left. Job finally receives blessings twice the level of what he had before. Even after Job had gone through all his troubles, God comes to Him and Job responds “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42: 2, NIV). What a way to glorify God to see the turn in the life of Job. Time and again I remind myself in my prayer that it is not for my earthly needs and desires but for the Glory of God. Who am I to not trust in God in the hard days?