Date: Tuesday,
May 26, 2015
Chapters: Job 1-3
Message
Title: Afflicted,
But Protected

Hello My Friend,

Sandwiched
in the center of the Old Testament Books are known as Books of
Poetry. Theses books are of human experiences of the people of God
under various circumstances of their earthly lives. They first begin
with the Book of Job, the Book of Job is the eighteenth book of the
Old Testament/Bible and contains forty-two chapters. It the oldest
written of the Bible books, the timeline is around the time of the
Abrahamic Covenant. The author of the book is unknown, but could have
been Moses or Job himself and it was written approximately around
1520 BC. The book was written to all people who experience suffering
for unexplained reasons. The purpose of the book is to explain the
question many people have, "Why do those living for God
suffer?". What we are to learn from the book is that there is a
spiritual reason behind all the unanswered suffering we encounter.
“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he
hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” - Job 23:10.


Satan, the root of all evil, including sickness and
death. It was Satan who rebelled against God and introduced Eve to
sin, and cause the curse of death and a sin nature to be passed down
to the rest of mankind. And while God can do no evil Himself, it is
God who allows Satan to place evil in the world. God decided to allow
the Satan to afflict a man name Job, who's name means, persecuted.


“Now there was a day when the
sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan
came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest
thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro
in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said
unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none
like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth
God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth
Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and
about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast
blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the
land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and
he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold,
all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth
thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.”
- Job 1:6-12.

As Christians we expect to face affliction
when we sin, however, it is a different story when we face affliction
and have not been doing anything wrong. The truth is, we will all
face affliction at some point in our lives regardless of whether or
not we are a Christian. Why? We are in the middle of a spiritual
battle between God and Satan, who will win the battle remains up to
us in how we choose to handle those afflictions. Trusting Christ and
looking beyond the circumstances unto God is what gives life to a
Christian, those who choose to hate God and or deny Him, blaming Him
for the evil, lose and end up right in the hands of Satan.


“Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some
strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are
partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be
revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached
for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of
God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your
part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as
a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let
him glorify God on this behalf.” - 1 Peter 4:12-16.

Satan
assumed that the only reason Job was faithful to God was because he
was successful and rich, he was certain that Job would curse God and
walk away from Him if he lost everything he had. God allowed Satan to
afflict Job, and he was not subtle about it either, within a matter
of minutes he took away his kids, servants, and livestock, but Job
did not sin and remained faithful to God. Stunned by this, Satan
shows up before God again, this time questioning Job's integrity.
“And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin
for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put
forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will
curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is
in thine hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the
presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of
his foot unto his crown. Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still
retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her,
Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we
receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In
all this did not Job sin with his lips.” - Job
2:4-7,9,10.

One of the hardest things to do as a Christian
is loving God when health issues arise, especially if a child is
involved. Sickness comes, but the true test of faith comes from
channeling all that sorrow, hurt, and pain into God, and letting Him
be our strength and healer when all else is impossible. “Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your
hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be
afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to
mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight
of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” - James 4:7-10.

Job
wasn't always optimistic, he had questions as to why he was even
born, but he knew that everything from God is a blessing. “Let
the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was
said, There is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let
not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon
it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. Why is light given to a
man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? For my sighing
cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.
For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which
I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I
rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.” - Job
3:3-5,23-26.

You know, when we are facing affliction,
whether we are sick or losing things, we are often prone to retrace
our steps to see what we have done wrong thinking that God is
punishing us. The truth is, God is not punishing us, He is merely
looking for us to trust Him. God knows what is best for us and when
we trust His decision He blesses us, it may not be the blessings that
we expect, but everything is a blessing from God. Even when a person
passes away, it is all in God's hands, God takes away our pain
according to His will and how much He knows we can handle. “And
he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will
of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and
whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them
he also glorified.” - Romans 8:27-30.

Today's
Prayer: God, I admit that the first thing I think of when
I am being afflicted is, “What have I done and how can I fix it?”
It is those thoughts that hinder me from seeing the blessings you are
giving me through my affliction. You already know what I am going
through, I just need to trust You and let You take care of it as I do
what I can in my ability. Lord, help me to walk continuously in my
integrity and keep looking to You for help through my affliction
instead of trying to fix the problem myself without Your guidance. I
love You and pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I
am praying for you,
Christina

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