STORMS

Storms   ( Received from a church in Texas today.)
When Job and his wife went through a series of very painful losses, and then Job suffered a crushing illness, instead of encouraging Job, she said, “Job, you’ve always done the right thing, and see what you get. Just curse God and give up.” Fortunately, even though he didn’t understand why it had happened, Job knew better than to make judgments based on one season of his life. He declared that God’s favor had been on his life, and that this storm was not permanent. By faith, Job weathered the great storm and eventually came out of it with double and lived a long, blessed life.   Every person has unfair, painful seasons. But you have to remind yourself that it’s just a season. It’s not the rest of your life. Don’t make a judgment based on a betrayal or a setback that’s temporary. Don’t give up on your dreams, lose your passion, or live bitter. The storm may be difficult, but what God is about to do is going to supersede anything you’ve ever seen.
    
A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that the unfair, painful seasons, when I don’t understand why something is going wrong, are only for a season of my life. Thank You that the storms are temporary. I believe that Your favor will shine again, and You will supersede anything I’ve seen You do before. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Ken’s Comments,
The above sort of kicked me in the butt today.   Going through a surprise divorce,   Caught walking pneumonia so difficult to get a good nights sleep, on antibiotics, which I hate and the last night pulled a ligament in my left shoulder which is very painful and make is difficult to use my left arm.  But you know,   God’s love is still here, Jesus is still on the Throne and all is well, this too shall pass and cause me to grow spiritually in the process if I don’t get into bitterness and resentment that could sink my boat.

Interesting story Job, actually the oldest book we have in our Bible as I understand it.  Seems Job was written about 2200 BC about the same time period as Abraham, Lot & Isaac.• He lived to marry and become “one of the greatest of all the men in the east (Job 1:3).
• He lived long enough to have sired ten children (Job 1:2).
• His children were old enough to have their own homes (Job 1:4, 13).
• After his tragic loss of everything, he lived long enough to father ten more children and amass even greater wealth (Job 42:10–13).
• He lived an additional 140 years after “all these things,” seeing his children and grandchildren to four generations (Job 42:16–17).   The Alexandrian Septuagint contains an addition to Job 42:16 stating that Job died at the age of 240.

In the story God ask satan what he had been up to….  Satan replied, “checking out the earth.”  And then God said a surprising thing, ““Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].”   Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not put a hedge [of protection] around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands [and conferred prosperity and happiness upon him], and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But put forth Your hand now and touch (destroy) all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.” 12 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that Job has is in your power, only do not put your hand on the man himself.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.   And we know the story, Job lost everything, his children, his wealth and his children.    So why did God do this?  It really does not sound like the God of the Sunday morning sermon, does it?  And if not true why still in our Bible?  

You will find the key over in Job 3:25-26:   ““For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me,
And that of which I am afraid has come upon me.  “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,  And I am not at rest, and yet trouble still comes [upon me].”

It appears that Job was not enjoying the abundance of what God had given him and was very fearful that he would loose his wealth, children and health.   He was even offering sacrifices for he children in case they might have sinned.   And the more God Blessed Job, the more fearful he became.   So my understanding is that God allowed satan to strip Job so that Job would learn not to fear, as in Chapter 1:21 Job clues in his readers as to what this story is about.   Job.1:21,   “He said, “Naked (without possessions) I came [into this world] from my mother’s womb, And naked I will return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  And we see in Job 42:10 where when Job accepted all that had happen to him as being allowed by God and gave up any bitterness or resentments for his friends, it was over.  “The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”

So the lessons from Job concerning the down times in our lives as for us is to consider them from God to help us grow spiritually.   So to not get into fear as God has not given us the spirit of fear but of Love, Power and a Sound Mind, 2 Tim.1:7.     And to not to harbor any bitterness, resentments or unforgiveness,   but to fully trust in God for the outcome to be good for those who are called according to HIS purpose,  Rom. 8:28.

Another, sort of humorous,  thought about this whole event was that Job had no fear concerning his wife, so she seemed to be mostly excluded from what Job went through.  Of course she gave him some very bad advice.