HOLD ON …EVEN IF.

Job 2:10: “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”.

                                                                                                                                           

Christianity is not a bed of roses as sometimes we think. Most Christians today are losing their faith in Jesus Christ because of afflictions. In fact, today, prosperity has been set as a measure to separate a good from a bad Christian.

But why should the Christian suffer affliction? How should the Christian behave in times of his afflictions? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?

Why Job? – a Righteous man

Bible says Job was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil irrespective of his wealth and blessings from God.  So he was considered the greatest of all the men of the east and it is no wonder Bible says in Psalm 34 that, “many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all”. The righteous is always a headache to the devil and therefore the devil will stop at nothing to cause the righteous to deny Jesus (Rev.12:12). The righteous of today are never spared either.

Drifting away

There comes a time in our lives we tend to drift away from the Lord spiritually, especially, when going through afflictions. It sounds unacceptable that within a twinkle of an eye, we thought we are leaning against a living God and then all of a sudden we lose everything – the love, the peace, the job, the possessions, the confidence, the increase, the lovely family, friends, etc. It becomes heartbreaking that if you don’t take heart, all kinds of thoughts and actions might result. This is what happened to Job’s wife. She could not stand the sudden change in their physical life- losing children and wealth, which caused the wife to advice Job to curse God and die! Unlike the wife, Job still trusted the Lord was in control. Job suggests that he and his wife had received many good things from the Lord and no matter the circumstances; the Lord was still their redeemer and all that was happening, was for their profit and advantage.

Survival Strategy In all these afflictions, Job did not sin with his lips; he did not utter any one impatient, murmuring and doubting word against God; Job humbled himself under the mighty hand of God, and brought his mind to his condition. His wife was used to be a troubler and tempter to him but he resisted on all fronts. Shall we receive so many unmerited blessings from a just and holy God, and then refuse to accept the afflictions? A few survival strategies can be as follows: ·        Know that God is still in control ·        Let the word of God encourage you rather than society (Rom. 15:4) ·        Be wise as the serpent and calm as a dove – why will a faithful God you trusted for your blessings allow your soul to be afflicted for an unjust cause? ·        Pray and fast to humble the flesh and seek God’s strength ·        Rebuke the discouraging words and avoid discouraging areas. ·        Affliction is a test on our faith and for our spiritual strength. ·        Affliction on the righteous comes with permission from God. HE will not allow you to be tested beyond what you cannot bear. Finally As Christians, our only hope in this hopeless world is to let our anchor hold in the storms of life; when the clouds unfold their wings of strife; when the strong tide lifts, when the cables strain; our anchors should still be firmly hooked to that Rock – Jesus Christ. Hold on even if, and the Lord shall restore you.…….. Amen!