By: Pastor Johnie Akers
Job 1:8, “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?”
Job was a man who loved God and lived right, but he still faced unimaginable loss. His story reminds us that faith must be tested to be trusted. Three friends come to visit Job in the midst of his ordeal of losing family, fortune, and health, and accused him ofcommitting some unconfessed transgression. Yet Job’s test was not about sin. Job wasn't being punished, he was being proven.
Some think trouble means you’re out of God’s will. But Job shows us trouble can come because you are in His will. God Himself bragged on Job’s integrity to Satan. His suffering was not because he was weak, but because he was strong enough to be tested.
Don’t assume the presence of pain means the absence of God. Sometimes it’s the opposite.
In a single day, Job lost his wealth, his servants, and his children. Sometimes the test touches your resources, your relationships, and your reputation. But notice: Job didn’t lose his worship. Job 1:20, “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped.” Even when everything else is shaken, your worship must stand firm.
Job’s wife said, “Curse God and die.” What’s in you comes out under pressure. God doesn't test you to learn about you—He already knows. He tests you so you can learn about yourself.
In the end, Job was ultimately blessed with twice as much as what he had initially lost. But he learned through his trial that the most important possession he ever had was his relationship with the Lord.
Always remember, if God allowed it, He plans to use it. If He brought you to it, He will bring you through it.
I penned the following in hopes you will retain it through the test you are presently enduring:
Bad news came; I got the call.
Lost my possessions, I lost it all.
My friends then turned away from me.
Why me? I asked, I could not see.
Then God showed up, out of my storm.
To teach me trust, beyond the norm.
His presence brought me peace and rest.
And taught me it was just a test.
Now that it’s over, I’ve learned this lesson.
He alone, is my greatest possession.
To establish the people of Central Appalachia in the principles of the Kingdom of God, and thereby releasing them to rise above all cultural, historical, economic, and generational limitations so they may live abundantly within their privileges and covenant as sons and daughters of God.