November 12, 2021
My Dear Brother And Sister in Christ, I greet and bless you in the name of our Creator, Maker, and ever unforgettable Lord Jesus Christ. The Blessed word that the Lord has given for you today is from the book of“Job 1:21″ Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
My Dear Brother And Sister, from the above context we learn that Job was a spiritual man who trusted God. He was a prayerful man, who kept his seven sons and three daughters covered by prayer, appealing to the Lord for their spiritual well-being. He was a wise man who had been blessed by God in many ways, and he was a pillar of spiritual piety among his peers, but Job was unaware of the spiritual battle that was raging in heavenly places. Although he knew God as Creator and worshipped Him with reverent fear, Job did not know that the old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, was using him to challenge God’s sovereign authority. The Lord had referred to Job as, “My servant,” and said of him, “there is no one on earth like unto him.” The result of Satan’s dialogue with the Lord, and his evil accusations against Job, allowed the Lord to permit the devil to test Job’s loyalty to God and his faith in his Creator, Whom he served with reverent fear.
My Dear Brother And Sister, Multiple disasters befell the stricken man, including the death of his ten children and the loss of his entire material assets. His many possessions and dearly loved offspring were all snatched from Job in one day – but this godly man did not curse the Lord, despite his broken-hearted grief. He tore his mantle in anguish of heart, shaved his head, as a sign of mourning. Although he was troubled at heart, yet he fell on the ground in order to worship the Lord, and cried out, saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Satan had wagered that Job would curse God when such intense disasters befell him, but Job recognised that everything he had was a gift from the Lord, and acknowledged that God retains the right to bestow blessings and remove them. He acknowledged that God is equally justified in permitting evil to overtake his servants as well as good. This grief-stricken man understood that all he had was from the Lord, and the loss of his estate and dearly loved children did not negate the goodness of God.
My Dear Brother And Sister, Job had long understood that we are born into this world with nothing, and that when we die, we leave this world equally empty-handed. Job’s response to his tragic loss, demonstrates a truly extraordinary man with a truly remarkable faith in God. He reacted to his woes with worship, and to his devastating losses with reverence and humility of heart. Job did not curse the Lord, as Satan had supposed, and despite his ongoing problems and pain, he retained his faith in God, which honoured the Lord. Satan was entirely wrong in his assessment of Job’s relationship with God almighty. His godly devotion, saintly worship and reverential fear of our heavenly Father reveals his extraordinary faith in God. For it is often when we are in pain, or in deep distress that we cling more tightly to the God of our salvation, for there is no one else to turn to, because He has the words that comfort us. However, we need to follow the attitude and behaviour of Job who was a saintly man. For he was a man of prayer and praise. He was a man who knew and trusted God’s Word. We too should be prepared to reiterate the words that came from Job’s mouth and the sentiment that ruled his heart, even when we do not know or understand why difficulties and disasters strew our pathway. May we be prepared to cry like Job, saying, “ The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” God Bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Thank You for the amazing lessons we can learn from Your servant, Job. We thank You for the many blessings You have graciously given us throughout our life, and we pray that we may hold the things of this world lightly, knowing that all we have is from You –Lord. And that whether we are rich or poor, whether, whether we rejoice or mourn we will accept the truth that whether You give or take away – we pray, that we may rejoice in Your goodness always, in order that we might live, to Your praise and glory.
In Jesus Name We Pray.
Amen.
