WHEN THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY DECEMBER 15, 2024.

SUBJECT : WHEN THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER!

Memory verse: “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and shuns evil?” (Job 1 vs 8.)

READ: Job 1 vs 13 - 19:

1:13: Now there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house;

1:14: and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them,

1:15: when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

1:16: While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

1:17: While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

1:18: While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house,

1:19: and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

INTIMATION:

The world view of life is that misfortune comes as a direct result of sin. Suffering can be, but is not always, a penalty of sin. When the righteous suffer, it is obvious that it is not sin related. Though, some people try to say that if you suffer, it’s because you have sinned and angered God. But this outlook is incorrect. For instance, Job did nothing to deserve what happened to him. The Scripture says that Job was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” (Job 1 vs 1.) It is noteworthy that those who love God are not exempt from trouble. Simply because one is a child of God does not mean that he will escape hardship in this life. 

Job was a righteous man in the Bible who went through many trials, but his faith in God was staunch even through all of them. According to the book of Job, the reason the righteous suffer is to test their faith in God, to make them more like Him, and to bring Him glory. Throughout all the drama that took place in Job’s life, he did not sin with his lips (Job 2 vs 10). As a reward for his faithfulness throughout the calamity in his life, God gave him an additional 140 years of life, plus restitution in double of his possessions that he had lost, with more sons and daughters.

The suffering that God allowed Satan to unleash on Job was to prove the point that the righteous can remain faithful in the presence of great personal suffering. Job was a model of trust and obedience to God, yet God permitted Satan to attack him in an especially harsh manner. Although God loves us, believing and obeying him do not shelter us from life’s calamities. Setbacks, tragedies, and sorrows strike Christians and non-Christians alike. But in our tests and trials, God expects us to express our faith to the world. How do you respond to your troubles? Do you ask God, “Why me?” or do you say, “Use me?”

Through no fault of his own, Job lost his wealth, children, and health. For Job, the greatest trial was not the pain or the loss; it was not being able to understand why God allowed him to suffer amidst all his righteousness. God alone knew the purpose behind Job’s suffering, and yet He never explained it to Job. In spite of this, Job never gave up on God, even in the midst of suffering. He never placed his hope in his experience, his wisdom, his friends, or his wealth. Job focused on God.

Job showed the kind of trust we are to have. When everything is stripped away, we are to recognize that God is all we ever really had. We should not demand that God should explain everything. God gives us Himself, but not all the details of His plans. We must remember that this life, with all its pain, is not our final destiny. Although we may not be able to understand fully the pain the righteous experience, it can lead us to rediscover God. However, knowing that God will not allow His children to be tempted beyond what they are able to endure encourages the faithful to remain true to their faith.

God does not punish us through our trials. He sends us those trials to test and deepen our relationship and faith in Him. Job says, “Put him to test every moment” (Job 7 vs 18). The apostle James says, “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1 vs 3 - 4). God wants us to run the race with endurance, and testing our faith is one reason He sends us trials. In sharing in Christ’s sufferings, we also become more mature in the faith, and we begin to imitate His character.

God sends us trial to make us more like Himself. So then you should, “…rejoice as you share in the sufferings of the Messiah,” (First Peter 4 vs 13) because our character matures through trials. If you ask anyone who has recently had a hard time, they will never say that it hurt them or they have bad character because of it. Those people will say it has made them stronger and more mature by refining their character. In the end, we’ll be refined and purified by the fire of trials. We’ll come out as sparkling gold. Job said, “When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23 vs 10).

Everything we do as Christians should glorify God. But you might be asking, “How could suffering bring God glory?” When the righteous endure until the end, praising God amidst tribulation, and trusting in His control, He gets glory. He even gets glory at the end when we witness to others and we testify of how faithful He has been through it all. The apostle Paul says, “..that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death.” (Philippians 1 vs 20). 

You may ask, Why should God be glorified? Because God deserves all our glory and praise, even when we can’t see what He is doing. Suffering affects all of humanity. But we as Christians have hope through Christ. We learn from Job that we shouldn’t fear the outcome, because God is in control of our trials, and He is right there with us through it all.

 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the Lord that controls all circumstances, and by You all things consist. I know nothing can separate me from the love of Christ! Yes, neither tribulation, nor distress,nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor peril, nor sword. In all these things I am more than a conqueror through You who loves me. I am an overcomer, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!