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JOB'S TESTING

This is a brief Exhortation given at Living Water Church

I don't usually get up and share but today I feel to share what's on my heart but recently a very dear friend challenged me to look at the life of Job. Two questions came to mind immediately: Why did he suffer? Was it pride? As I looked at his life I have had opportunities to apply some lessons to my own life.

Why did God allow Job to be tested? We may not always know the answer to this question but we need to always be ready for testing in our lives.

Job's friends thought they had the answers ... what was the sin? Or what did he do wrong?

Isn't that the way we think sometimes if things don't go the way we think God would do things we start pointing fingers. There must be something wrong maybe they don't pray enough etc. etc

We must be careful making judgments about a person because God maybe working in ways we know nothing about.

One of them said that Job was becoming proud and that God needed to humble him. Of course this is partially true because suffering does purify us and there is (1 certain amount of pride in all of us. But was this the reason? We don't always know why. God goes beyond our own understanding. If God chooses not to tell us why, that’s His business ... ours is to remain faithful.

Finally God answers Job saying that He is in control of the world and that he must accept what He allows to happen in his life and to trust Him. Job's relationship with the Lord grew. He was blessed more in the second half of his life. It's the same for us. Testing is difficult but the results are usually a deeper relationship with God.

(This next paragraph relates to our trying to purchase a building to convert to a Church)

When my husband came home and told me that we were denied the variances and that the lawyer and everyone were shocked because there was no real reason for it I immediately felt the hand of God in it. Whether this was God's protection or God's testing doesn't matter. What matters is how we respond when God is searching our hearts.

Are we going to be one of Job's friends and accuse him or say; "I knew it." Watch out! When we congratulate ourselves we become proud.

Or are you going to trust God? I believe each and every one of us is being tested today. I hope that no one here is like Job's friends saying; "I knew this was not of God" or "I knew it wouldn't work out".

Or, you may hear someone else say something like that. If you do tell them; to be careful "Pride comes before a fall". Remember, testing is difficult but it's an avenue to bring us into a deeper walk.

Our lives are like buildings. We need to be solid enough to withstand the weight. When the testing comes and our building collapses then we see what we were built on ... Are we built on the Rock? How strong is our foundation?

God knew Job's foundation was strong. Even after the Lord allowed his "building" to be knocked down He was able to build on Job again because Job’s foundation was strong and he was even more blessed with the new building! So the question is: "Can The Lord build on us again?"