Testimonies are meant to encourage. Most of the time, they do, but occasionally, they make us wonder, “What about me?” Why has that person’s life turned out so well, while mine seems to be stuck in reverse? Every life is different. God has a design for your life. Are you willing to trust him, even when trouble comes?
Job was a man who lived righteously before God. Satan believed Job only loved and trusted God because he was so blessed, so
God gave Satan permission to test Job. He lost everything — property, cattle, even children. But Job’s response was to worship. “Naked I came into the world, naked I will leave,” he said. Satan then said taking Job’s possessions wasn’t enough. Surely, if God allowed Job to go through hardships, he would crumble. So Job’s body was covered from head to toe with sores. His friends came to him and said, “Obviously, you have sinned.” Job remained true to God and maintained his innocence.
At one point, Job began to ask God some questions, and God responded by asking Job a few questions of his own. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Have you ever given orders to the morning? Does the rain have a father? Do hawks fly because of your design?”
So, what can we learn from Job’s story?
God’s ways are not like ours. We can’t understand him by human logic and reason. We can’t hold him captive to what we think is right or fair. God has a reason and a purpose for the things he does. Psalm 18:30 says: “His ways are perfect.”
God is good. He is for us. We were created as the object of his affection. When things go well, God is good. When things go badly, God is good. When we have a lot, God is good. When we have little, God is good. His character doesn’t change.
God can be trusted all the time. Good and bad, easy and difficult, fruitful and barren — blessed be the name of the Lord.
There is a new day coming. God’s nature is to redeem and restore. Even though we don’t always understand his ways, we can know his heart. No matter how bad or how long, there is a new day coming.
Blessing will come to those who trust in him. It might not come when or how we expect it, but it will come.
– Dr. Thomas Tanner is lead pastor of RiverStone Church and president of the Transformation Network. He and Melissa have two children and five grandchildren. tom@riverstoneonline.org.
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