Job 1:21 "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."
Job, what a guy. Here's a man in the Bible who has it all. He's wealthy. He has cattle, camels, donkeys, children, and a wife. (perhaps she should have been listed 1st. Sorry to you ladies) He lives in a great land and is prosperous. Then all of a sudden one day, things start vanishing from him. His family dies, his health deteriorates, his possessions are gone; and with no real reason why. He can't see that in the Heaven's above, God and Satan are having a great debate (mostly Satan) about Job's loyalty and love for God. Though God has complete control, He obliges Satan. God ALLOWS the Devil to lay siege to Job's "life" with only 1 stipulation; Job's life must be spared.
It wasn't sin or a curse that brought all of this upon Job. We know that the very first verse of "his" book of the Bible tells us that "...this man was blameless and upright..." (Job 1:1) It was an attack from the Devil. Job was trying his best to do everything right in his life, living the best way he could and loving God all the while. It was at that time that he became a huge target on the Devil's radar. Satan doesn't care too much about you if you're living a Godless life--he's already won that battle. It's when you are living a GODLY life that the Devil gets scared. Fear drove him into the court of the Most High. Fear motivated him to challenge God for Job's loyalty. Fear that this man who was respected and motivated for God would impact the world doing Kingdom work!
We all know the story, how even Job's "friends" were used by the Devil to tell him that he'd done something to deserve what was happening. Even his wife told him to curse God and die, but Job didn't.
Lately I've been having a Job like life. My father-in-law died suddenly, my dog has a deadly (but curable) disease, my house needed new floors, and just yesterday my car died. Things seem to be unraveling around here. They were going so well. We were working on debt pay-offs, moving, really studying the word, getting closer to God....and disaster! It didn't hit me until last night, this is an all out attack. The Devil, that moron of old, is using the same tactics on me that he used on Job 5000 years ago! So I say WWJD....What Would Job Do? I know, you were expecting the other WWJD, but I think even He considered what Job would do.
Jesus went to the Garden to pray on the night He was betrayed. He was under attack from the Devil. His ministry for the Father was HUGE. Jesus' friends began to betray and accuse Him. He prayed in the Garden...is there another way? Jesus was feeling Jobish, persecuted and abandoned, so perhaps He thought about Job. Maybe He thought about Job 1:21..."the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.." For the life that had been "given" to Jesus was soon to be taken away. Just like with Job, the plot was hatched and executed by the Devil to take all Jesus had; and just like with Job, God over-rewarded the "victor" with spoils. In Job's case, he got back double what was taken from him. In Jesus' case, He is the ruler of all!
So when life is in the crapper...or on it's way there.....ask yourself....What Would Job Do?
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