James 5:11 NLT
We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
Last week was very full with lots of outcomes that make me smile as well as make me know that the future of our ministry is going to be even stronger than the past 20 years. It is an honor to be part of what God is doing and of a church where God is working.
In the last few months I have been led to read through the book of Job. It is a book of suffering with not many answers of why suffering happens. More so we are given an example of how to maintain character in the middle of suffering, pain and tragedy.
But what has stuck out to me most is toward the end of the story. Job was tested by Satan because God allowed that to happen. Job was encouraged to quit. Job was told by his wife to walk away from God. Then Job’s friends challenged him in every single way possible.
Here are a few of those ending verses that mean a lot to me.
Job 42 NLT
10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! … 12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. … 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. … 16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.
Those verses speak volumes. We learn some things about Job and about God that stand out about our faith and walking with God.
Job prayed for His friends. Those were the same friends that opposed Job and thought the worst of Job. But when Job prayed for them something changed. God moved on behalf of the one praying and the ones he prayed for.
Job was blessed in the second half more than the first half of his life. He was blessed big time early in life, and when all of the struggle, trouble and pain came, it looked like Job was no longer blessed. But Job was. It wasn’t until much later that others saw those blessings.
His life was full. Full doesn’t mean just lots of years. It means lots of life and blessings.
May we have the character of Job. May we see our suffering like Job did. May we trust God like Job trusted God. The outcome was in God’s hands, and it teaches us more about the character of our good and gracious God.
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