Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Never forsaken, never abandoned.”
Our Bible verse for today: “I had heard the rumors about You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I take back my words and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “When it’s all said and done we discover that God was faithful after all.”
Job tried, he really did. When a cascading series of disasters invaded his life he made a valiant effort to trust God and to remain faithful in all he said and did. And for the most part, he was successful – but not entirely. As the suffering wore on, and on, and on, Job faltered. There were moments when he cursed the day of his birth (3:3). There were other times when he decided that it was God Himself who was inflicting the pain and misery upon him (6:4). And there were times when he challenged God to explain and defend His actions (10:2).
As Job was going through this time of suffering he discovered that his conception of God – his preconceived notions of who God was and what He was like, were inaccurate and inadequate. In the end Job finally came to the realization that God had never forsaken him, never abandoned him, and through this time of terrible trial and suffering Job came to know God is a much deeper, more intimate way. The trials and tribulations actually became a period of tremendous spiritual growth for him. Before being comforted, healed, and restored, Job had to first hear from God. It was necessary for him to come to the end of his own resources and abilities in order to fully appreciate the sovereign goodness of God.
People suffer in this world because there is an evil adversary called Satan who wrecks lives and shatters hopes. But ultimately Satan is the loser. In the end God shows Himself to be not only the Creator, but also the Savior, the Redeemer, and the Sovereign Lord over all of life.
It has been said that in order to fully understand the lessons of Job we ourselves must have first gone through similar loss – or walked through such a time with someone we care about and love. During times like that there are no easy answers, there are no religious platitudes that make it all better, and we usually can’t see the way out. And so we walk through the darkness by faith, putting one foot in front of the other, trusting that nothing we’re experiencing is outside of God’s sovereign will. And in time, like Job, we discover that God was faithful after all. He never left us, He never abandoned us, and in His way and at His time, He brings us through it.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 