MY REDEEMER LIVES!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY DECEMBER 6, 2020.

SUBJECT : MY REDEEMER LIVES!

Memory verse: "

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth

.

" (Job 19 vs 25.)

READ: Job 19 vs 13 - 20:

19:13: He has removed my brothers far from me, and my acquaintance are completely estranged from me.
19:14: My relatives have failed, and my close friends have forgotten me.
19:15: Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants, count me as a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.
19:16: I cal my servant, but he gives me no answer; I begged him with my mouth.
19:17: My breath is offensive to my wife, and I am repulsive to the children of my own body.
19:18: Even young children despise me; I arise, and they speak against me.
19:19: All my close friends abhor me: and those whom I love have turned against me.

19:20: My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

INTIMATION:

The Most High God is our Redeemer and He lives! All we need to do is have faith in Him. There are times of great distress and challenging circumstances in our lives that cause us to lose hope, and think that the end has come for us. But our God says, “C

all upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Psalm 50 vs 15.) 

At the heart of the book of Job comes His ringing affirmation of faith and confidence in God: “I know my Redeemer lives.” What a tremendous faith Job had, especially in light of the fact that he was unaware of the conference between God and Satan. 

In the passage we read today, the sufferings of Job were overwhelming: in His distress his brothers, relatives, friends, his wife, children, and even his servants dumped him, and his acquaintances abandoned him, little children despised him, and even the ones he loved turned against him. Faced with death and decay Job still anchored his faith, trust, hope, and confidence in God. 

Although Job struggled with the idea that God was presently against Him, he finally believed that in the end God would be on his side. This belief was so strong that Job became one of the first to talk about the resurrection of the body 

One of the greatest sufferings Job endured was to lose his friends. Not only were the three friends detached from him with their judgmental discourses, all others had also forsaken him. He was alone in his suffering, which loneliness brought great despair. No one was there for him. And yet, he remained faithful to God. Not one word of cursing came out of his mouth. Job said, “In my flesh I shall see God.” In Job’s situation, it seemed unlikely to Him that He would, in his flesh, see God. And that’s just the point of Job’s faith! He was confident that God’s justice would triumph, even if it would take a miracle like resurrection to accomplish this. And at the end God came through for him in his unwavering faith!

I don’t know what you may be passing through or the circumstances surrounding your life at the moment, all you need to do is have faith in our unfailing God; Call upon Him in your day of trouble, and He will deliver you! Know it now, your Redeemer lives! Humble yourself before Him, and He will exalt you. After the drama of Job’s suffering, and with his new understanding of God, Job responded in a positive manner by recognizing his humble nature in comparison to God. This should be our attitude at all times.

What manifested in the integrity of Job was his forgiveness of his friends. In the depths of his calamity he was accused and verbally abused by his friends. Nevertheless, when his ordeal was over, he forgave them. Forgiveness was for himself, for without it his lack of forgiveness would turn to bitterness. He remembered to forgive because God forgave him. 

Evidently, the condition for returning the fortunes of Job was based on Job’s forgiveness of his friends. His forgiveness was manifested when he prayed for them. As Christians, forgiveness should be paramount in our lives! 

As a result of his forgiveness of his friends, Job’s wealth was doubled. He again had children. His daughters were the most beautiful in the land. Evidently, Job became so prosperous after his suffering that he gave the daughters an inheritance as he did their brothers. We do not know how old Job was at the time of his suffering. We would assume that he was an older person because of the position that he held among the people. If we add the 140 years to his age at the time of suffering, we would estimated that he was possibly close to 200 years old when he died. At least he died in his fourth generation of the sons and daughters who were born to Him after suffering.

We notice that the world seems to run by a system of cause and effect, yet there are some effects for which we can’t find a clear cause, and some causes that don’t lead to the expected effects. Often we suffer consequences for bad decisions and actions. Job’s willingness to repent and confess known wrongs is a good guideline for us. Sometimes suffering shapes us for special service to others. Sometimes suffering is an attack by Satan on our lives. And sometimes we don’t know why we suffer. At those times, we should trust God in spite of unanswered questions.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Redeemer, and my faith, trust, and confidence are anchored in You. There is nothing too hard for You, or impossible with You. In any circumstances I found myself, I know this for sure; ‘You will deliver me when I call upon You,’ my Loving Father. I pray that nothing will ever come between us, in the mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!