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Scripture:
"At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: 'Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.' In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." (Job 1:20-22 NIV)Reflection:
When we are deeply rooted in the Word of God, what shall be our approach whenever we are put into test and there will be great sorrow and everything we have will disappear?One of the famous person in the Bible is Job - a man who is blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil; he was blessed by God in his wealth, property, and children; he prospered in everything because God was so pleased to him and he lived righteously. But, where did it start? It seems like everything in his life is perfect. Job lived life in joy and peace by the grace of God. Until, one day Satan enter his life with the permission of God.
"One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord , and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, 'Where have you come from?' Satan answered the Lord , 'From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.' Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.' 'Does Job fear God for nothing?' Satan replied. 'Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.' The Lord said to Satan, 'Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.' Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord." (Job 1:6-12 NIV)
They wanted to test Job. Satan wanted to try the faith of Job. If goodness will always happen to Job, he can’t identify if he is faithful or his desire is just to gain blessings. What happened was everything was taken away from him; his wealth, properties and even all his children. But let’s see what is the approach of Job in this situation.
1. Worship God
"At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship" (Job 1:20 NIV)This was the first thing Job did. He worshiped God even in the deep sorrow. Job was a wise man because he knew who to consult first before anyone else.
"This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." (1 John 3:19-20 NIV)
Only in the presence of God we can find rest when something is bothering us and our heart is going through hard times. God is greater than our hearts, and above all, He knows everything that is happening in our life. He even knew that this thing will happen to Job before Job imagine it.
2. Realizing our nothingness
"and said: 'Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart...'” (Job 1:21a NIV)Job realized that he has nothing to own, everything is owned by God. It is hard to think sometimes that where do our hardships go? We think we did any contribution, but not even one. Even our strength comes from God, everything.
"The earth is the Lord ’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;" (Psalms 24:1 NIV)
We can see the richness of God that He owns everything what we are experiencing right now and especially the life we have.
3. Realizing God can give and take away
"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;" (Job 1:21b NIV)All the abundance of Job comes from God. Why did the Lord give it to Job? Because Job is upright and blameless, feared God and shunned evil. He lived according to the will of God and he deserved to be blessed. But, why did God let Satan take away what he had? God knows Job is a faithful servant. He said in Job 23:11-12 "My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
The word of God has rooted deeply in the heart of Job. The Lord show what is really the most important thing that we should have: it is the Word of God. God blesses those who believes in His word and lives righteously. For sure, whatever Job has before will double. God will take away, but God will give more in return.
4. Praising God until the end
"may the name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21 NIV)This is an amazing attitude of Job. He still praised God despite his situation. If we look back to key points 2 and 3, he really knew God of who He is. Whatever we have and whatever we’re experiencing right now, it is not due to our works but it is the grace of God. We could not imagine life without remembering who, what, where, when, and how life is without God.
5. Remain upright and fear God
"In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." (Job 1:22 NIV)If we fear God, we will not do sin (Proverbs 8:13). This is the response of Job, despising sin and evil and do what is right. He didn’t even blame God of the things happened to him but he remains upright. He still does right thing in the eyes of the Lord. And Job said: "I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;" Job 19:25-26 (NIV)
Nothing can pull him over from God even his death because he was deeply rooted in God and believe God will reign forever.
Conclusion:
Without the word of God, do you think we are still alive?"I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread." Job 23:12 (NIV)
Job said that the Word of God is more than daily food. Some might say "Yes" while many are not aware of the Word of God, but still they are alive. They are like that of the living dead - the flesh is alive but the soul is dead. We were once like that before we know God and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Now that we are children of God we always hunger of His Word. We believe that Word of God is essential food of life. We treasure it because we found true life and the fullness of life in the Word of God.
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