The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised: Job:1:21.

BY RAJKUMAR A CHRISTI

Dear Brothers/Sisters/Elders and Children.

Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The world is in turmoil because of Covid 19 pandemic. During Corona Pandemic, many of us have lost our dear and loved ones, our jobs. Prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed, medical bills have increased and we are mentally and physically disturbed. Many of us have gone into depression worrying about the future. And still the pandemic is not over. Many countries are fearing the third wave.

But, today I want to encourage you all that whatever may be our situation, our God is Almighty God and he is in control of every and all our situation. He reigns. Be patient and see that our God is caring for us and able to turn around the situation in our favor.

We all know about the Job of the Bible. He lost all his possessions. Even he lost his sons and daughters. But we all know what he said in Job:1:21 “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised”. How come a person, who has lost all his possessions and his loved ones can praise God? The reason is that Job’s faith in God and belief that though I am in great distress and pain, God’s hand is over me. God is at my side in my calamities.

Moreover, Job was greatly afflicted by Satan with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.  He was in great pain and anguish. To get some relief from this pain he sat in the ashes and took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it. But do you think he got any relief from his pain by doing so? No, he didn’t get any relief because, in Job Chapter 6:2, he says “if only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales, it would surely outweigh the sand of the seas”. So Job was in great pain. Mentally and physically.

Even his wife didn’t support him nor was by his side in this great misery because she told Job that you curse God and die. There was no hope for Job.

But in this situation of great calamities, he praised God and didn’t curse God. Job 6:10 says “Then I would still have this consolation,- my joy in unrelenting pain that I had not denied the word of the Holy one”.

And we all know that in the end, by remaining faithful to God’s word and God, Job got everything back in double measure. God blessed him abundantly. And the Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.

I believe any one of us has not suffered to the point that Job suffered in his life. So what we have learned from Job’s suffering?

We must praise God even in our adverse condition and remain faithful and steadfast till the end believing and trusting  God. Hebrew 11:6 says “ without faith you cannot please God”. And God doesn’t work if you do not have faith in him.

May God give all of us his strength and wisdom and lead us by his holy spirit so that in every situation of our life, whether bad or good, we praise God, thank God, and remain very faithful to him to receive his abundant blessings in our lives.

Amen.

(Rajkumar A Christi is a preacher from Anand, Gujarat)