Staff Writer – Audrey Linton
The fact is we all go through rough times! If any of you are on the escalator of life there are times we are on the escalator going up and at other times we are on the escalator going down. – but both escalators have a destination – they lead somewhere!To make sense of this analogy I want to use the life of Job – a resilient Bible character who experienced double for his trouble.
Imagine losing your business, family, friends all within a short period of time and then on top of that being struck down with a mysterious illness which manifests itself with putrifying sores and boils all over your skin! Not a pretty sight – well that’s what happened to our friend Job. Everything he had was wiped out.
His wife told him to commit spiritual suicide; his friends accused him of committing some unforgiveable sin that’s why he was experiencing so much trouble and Job spiralled into a deluge of self pity, anguish and pain.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom he learnt a lot of lessons going through the process and he was rewarded greatly as a result.
Let me share with you what I learn from the life of Job. There is a consequence to every bad decision
His wife advised him that he should renounce his faith. However, she knew that there was a consequence to this decision – he would probably end up dying!
‘Curse God and die’ she said. In other words she was saying the only way to relieve yourself of all this anguish is to do something about it – take things into your own hands – don’t worry about the consequences. Job’s belief system was so rooted and ground in his God he called her ‘foolish.’
Avoid the trap of self pity
Job fell into this trap of ‘why me’? Although he did not take his wife’s advice, he went one step further and started to curse himself and the day he was born. Self pity leads us into those areas where we turn our anger inwards and place blame on ourselves. Anger turned inwards leads to depression!
Should good people suffer?
Celebrating a change in fortune. Photo courtesy wavebreakmedia.com
Job’s friends came to comfort him as he was going through his troubles.
“Well Job if you were really as righteous as you think, all these things just would not happen to you” exclaimed his friends.
With friends like them, who needs enemies? We are not exempt from trials in our life. I don’t have the answer for ‘why do good people suffer?’ or ‘why do innocent children have to starve?’ I know the problem does not lie with the Creator, but the solution does – and Job realised that and did something about it.
Encourage yourself!
Job realised that if something has to change it has to change in me! And he started to encourage himself. Have you ever tried turning a negative word into a positive word – it carries so much power. Once Job started to see the positive things in his life, his situation started to change.
Double for your trouble
Job’s trials, I am told, only lasted a few months, however it seemed like many years. Once Job started to realise that he didn’t know everything and he started to walk in the spirit of humility. God turned his situation around. Job ended up receiving twice the amount of livestock, sheep, and wealth that he had before. God even blessed him with more children and we are told that he had the ‘fairest daughters’ in the land.
I know that all sounds unbelievable! But my friend it can happen to you. I encourage you to start to see the good in what you are going through?
What lessons can you learn from your situation – you learn lessons so that one day you may teach others.
