Trusting God in the Trials - Job 1-2 and Acts 7:22-43
It is easy to trust God when everything is going well. In fact, that is why some people trust God. They want Him to ensure that all goes well. The problem is that God does not look at things that way. He wants to know who trusts Him, not who loves blessings. Everyone loves blessings, but who loves Him. He uses trials to show us whether we love Him or the blessings. He already knows our hearts. The trials reveal to us what is in our hearts.
It is incredible to consider Job. That is what God asked Satan to do. Satan thought that Job would curse God if his possessions and family were removed. Then, he was sure Job would curse God if his health was taken away. In both cases Satan was wrong. God allowed the trials to come into Job's life, because He already knew that Job loved Him completely and that he would trust Him even in the worst trials. What a tribute to Job and what a challenge to us. How would we react if we lost all of our possessions, family, and good health? We can consider it now, or we can wait for the trials of life to reveal it to us. We need to decide that we will trust God no matter what happens, because He is worthy of all of our faith and love.
Moses had a similar life. Things did not go at all the way he wanted them to go. He wanted to deliver his people at age 40. He committed a murder, and he had to leave the house of Pharaoh. He was a shepherd in the wilderness for 40 years. Then, when he did go back to Egypt, he had to trust God through the 10 plagues. He then had to put up with Israel in the wilderness for 40 more years. All except for the one incident of striking the Rock, Moses trusted God in all things. He was a model of being faithful, even though his life was one long series of trials. After living 120 years, I believe he received a "well done" from God, and he realized that all of the pain was nothing compared to the eternal comfort of being with God. We all need that kind of eternal perspective in our lives. Then, when trials come, they will bring out our faith, instead of destroying what little faith we have.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 3-4 and Acts 7:44-60.
It is incredible to consider Job. That is what God asked Satan to do. Satan thought that Job would curse God if his possessions and family were removed. Then, he was sure Job would curse God if his health was taken away. In both cases Satan was wrong. God allowed the trials to come into Job's life, because He already knew that Job loved Him completely and that he would trust Him even in the worst trials. What a tribute to Job and what a challenge to us. How would we react if we lost all of our possessions, family, and good health? We can consider it now, or we can wait for the trials of life to reveal it to us. We need to decide that we will trust God no matter what happens, because He is worthy of all of our faith and love.
Moses had a similar life. Things did not go at all the way he wanted them to go. He wanted to deliver his people at age 40. He committed a murder, and he had to leave the house of Pharaoh. He was a shepherd in the wilderness for 40 years. Then, when he did go back to Egypt, he had to trust God through the 10 plagues. He then had to put up with Israel in the wilderness for 40 more years. All except for the one incident of striking the Rock, Moses trusted God in all things. He was a model of being faithful, even though his life was one long series of trials. After living 120 years, I believe he received a "well done" from God, and he realized that all of the pain was nothing compared to the eternal comfort of being with God. We all need that kind of eternal perspective in our lives. Then, when trials come, they will bring out our faith, instead of destroying what little faith we have.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 3-4 and Acts 7:44-60.