Suffering Can Prove Qualification - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) February 25, 2025

We often expect God to create an easy way out of trouble or provide a soft landing when we have to take a leap of faith. Many times, however, He chooses to do things differently from how we would expect. Often, He uses challenging situations to not only strengthen His children, but also to make a point about them. This was the case for Job, who was described as blameless, upright, and so God fearing that he shunned evil. Job 1:3 says he "was the greatest man among all the people of the East." God even boasted about him to satan, calling him "my servant" and said there was no one else like him in the entire world (Job 1:8).

And yet, God allowed satan to afflict Job. The devil was intent on destroying the man and caused him great harm. All to prove God a liar. So much so, that his friends insisted that his suffering had to be the result of living a sinful lifestyle. As each friend accused him, he held to his belief that he had not committed any sin to warrant his loss and pain. In his frustration, he demanded the Lord explain why he was going through such a tough time. God obliged him. The result was a chastened Job, who acknowledged that he should have been more careful how he'd spoken and thought about His Creator.

We are told in 1 Peter 5:10 - And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. Similarly, after Job had suffered for some time, the Lord restored all he'd lost and gave him double for his trouble (Isaiah 61:7). That wasn't all he got for enduring the challenges. God acknowledged him as His servant to his friends - the same friends who'd accused him of being everything but a saint. Speaking to Eliphaz, the Lord called Job a servant four separate times. He also instructed him to have Job pray over himself and the two others who had spoken incorrectly (Job 42:7-8).

God didn't stop there. Having shown that Job stood firm under pressure, the Lord also proved to satan that His initial assessment was indeed correct - the man was His servant. A man who weathered the worst that satan could throw at him and did not break faith with His God. In so doing, He proved that satan was nothing but a liar.

Job's experience teaches us many things. First, someone else's suffering may be God's tool to ultimately show that person approved. Therefore, we should not assume we understand what God is doing during someone's season of suffering. Consider the struggles faced by the first apostles and Christians. To the casual observer, God must have been upset with them to allow them face death and prosecution. They did not know that Jesus had warned that such would happen because they believed in Him (Matthew 10:22). We have the benefit of the Bible and the Holy Spirit to help our understanding. Instead of gossip and judgment, let us support the suffering with assistance (where we can and are equipped) and fervent intercessory prayers.

Second, it is easy to complain about God's pruning but He may be doing things we are unaware of. We need the patience and wisdom of God to hang in there until we receive breakthrough. God could be using our current season to prove us worthy of the title He lovingly assigns. To understand this point, imagine if Job had done what his wife suggested in Job 2:9, "curse God and die"? Or, if he'd crumpled under his friend's accusations and shifted in his faith that he had not sinned against God? He may have truncated his journey and his story would have ended differently. Instead of satan learning that it it gained nothing for troubling him, it would have had grounds to point at God and call Him a liar.

Third, just because a person has suffered does not automatically make them God's servant. While suffering can qualify someone for service, notice that God called Job His servant prior to his affliction. Job's commitment and obedience made him a servant long before satan attacked. In fact, that was partly why he was attacked. We must allow God to give us the title and appointment He desires. It is unwise to usurp His authority and go where we have not been trained for or sent to. The Seven Sons of Sceva tried this (Acts 19:13-16). They'd gotten away with it for a while but crossed their Vashti Line and were beaten black and blue. May that never be our portion IJMN Amen.

Fourth, God needs to tell us whether our suffering stems from His training or a sinful lifestyle. All men have sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). Yet, some struggles are a result of unrepented and/or repeated sin that prevent the blood of the Lamb from purifying believers who walk with the Holy Spirit (1 John 1:7). Sins such as fornication, sexµal immorality, occult practices, unforgiveness, hatred for God or others, and more dull spiritual senses so flesh dominates. When this happens, access to God's grace and mercy decrease and the devil has increased liberty to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Unlike with Job where God allowed his struggles for a short period, those living in perpetual sin walk further away from God's protection and bear the unpleasant brunt of satan's evil. Prayer and fasting will bring the insight needed.

Our suffering can teach us many things. It can teach the devil that God's children are worthy of the title He assigns them. May we submit to God's will especially when it is hard to understand why we are confronted by the storms of life. May the Lord grant grace, strength, and wisdom to not contribute to the devil 's evil underlying schemes. May we always be on the Lord's side and may our lives prove Him true in all we do, IJMN, Amen.

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Suffering Can Prove Qualification - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) February 25, 2025

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