The Life of Job: God is in Total Control
The Book of Job is an interesting read. While reading Job, a favorite song of mine comes to mind: More Than I can Bear - Kirk Franklin. Let’s look at the lyrics in the first verse:
“I've gone through the fire
And I've been through the flood
I've been broken into pieces
Seen lightnin' flashin' from above
But through it all I remember
That He loves me
And He cares
And He'll never put more on me
Than I can bear”
I don’t know about you, but I feel like Job himself could have written these lyrics. Scripture tells us that when God spoke of Job he said, “there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8 NKJV). Yet, Job still had to suffer the wrath of the devil. Why? Well, honestly, we can’t answer why God allowed Job to be tested. But we can take away a few points from the story of Job.
God is in total control:
If we read the scripture, we see that God has complete authority, even over the devil. Yep, you read that right. In short summary, God and the devil had a conversation regarding Job. The devil believed if Job lost all that God had given him, he would curse God. So, God essentially gave the devil “permission” to test Job with limitations. God first tells the devil he can’t touch Job (Job 1:12). In a second conversation, God tells the devil he must spare Job’s life (Job 2:6). We can’t deny that this test caused a lot of sorrow for Job. He lost his children and all his possessions IN THE SAME DAY. In fact, he learned he had lost everything within what seems to be a matter of minutes. Read Job 1:13-22. Sad, right? Can you imagine? I certainly can’t. But notice the devil obeyed God and did not take Job’s life.
God will not put more on us than we can bear:
I believe the main lesson we should take away from Job’s story is that God will never give us more than we can bear. God knew that Job could withstand this test. Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9 NKJV). Eventually his friends began to come down on him insisting that he must have sinned. However, no matter what, Job would not curse God. This to me is the ultimate level of faith. Through it all, Job stayed faithful, and God restored him. The bible says, “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:11)
The lesson:
1. God is in total control
2. He will never put more on us than we can bear
3. We may not understand the reason, but we can trust that God will carry us through
· “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NKJV)
4. Faith Triumphs in Trouble
· And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4)
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