God's Purpose in Job's Suffering ...

[WordDivine]

What do I think? I think Scripture is my refuge. I have suffered so deeply that I have twice asked the Lord to let me die. The first time, early in 2008, I begged Him to just let me die, told Him He didn't owe me and need not let me into His Heaven, because Hell couldn't be worse than what I was suffering. I was absolutely in the pits of self hatred at the time, and saw no benefit in my existence. Jesus Christ came back with Reuben Morgan's song Mighty To Save, that was His gentle "No", and His encouragement was the Reuben Morgan song Eagle's Wings. He placed this computer in my hands in August 2008, and at long last showed me what I could do to serve Him after years of Sanctification and study. I still dwell in a place of deep affliction, and early this year, again, I was utterly crushed. Just so wounded and broken down that i could stand it no longer... Again, He asked me to live and told me why. All I can say is that I get my renewal from the Holy Spirit which is utterly unprecedented in my entire life. Graybeard talked to me on the phone on the day I quit my job; his first question was "How are you doing", and I broke down and cried. He saw me with his own eyes a week later, and was amazed at the restoration that was quite evident. He has seen me pray as well, and can vouch for the genuineness of both my faith and my pain. What is hurting me? Dreams unwind (thx Stevie Nicks for those words...) I dreamed for 20 years of owning a house in the country; the home I found,, where I have lived for 10 years now, is more charming and more comfortable than I could have possibly hoped... The neighbor, however, is a screaming nightmare on steroids. Dreams unwind...

Satan makes devastating bets that if he tortures us enough that he can break our faith, that is the first lesson of Job. People doubt our integrity and blame us for our afflictions, that is the second lesson of Job. When your life falls apart, you will be blessed if even three friends come sit in the ashes with you, that is the third lesson of Job. God is faithful and true through it all. That is the fourth lesson of Job. There are many lessons in Job as there are in all Scripture. Not one Word in the Holy Bible is fodder for casual dismissal, of that I am absolutely certain. I have studied the Word Of God for over 6 1/2 years, and I am still discovering new depths of deeply resonant meaning in Its pages. From what I understand, no one has lived and served Jesus Christ so long that they never stop discovering new and resonant meanings in Scripture.

That is what I think.

Wow amazing testimony

[mattfivefour]

I agree, WD. Meg has a most amazing testimony. What an awesome GOD we serve!!!

[OnceWasLost]

As I view Job it was a test with a twist.

What started the whole mess was an accusation made against God's nature. For a modern paraphrase Satan made the accusation that people only like you God when you give them stuff, take away their stuff and they will curse you.

Here is the question, could that accusation go uncontested? If it did then all humanity would be able, and IMO rightly so, to question His justice. Picking winners and losers isn't simply unjust, it is also favoritism.

So, the proposition could only be proved through the life of a mortal man namely Job. It set up an interesting dilemma in that Job felt abandoned and he must have felt like nobody was paying attention in heaven. Meanwhile, in heaven I suppose all eyes were focused on the events surrounding Job, to see if the accusation was correct.

Given the situation with Job as an example, if we maintain our integrity we are able to see His nature and His commitment to us. Then we learn going forward that He owes us nothing, but has given us everything in Jesus our Lord.

[mattfivefour]

As I view Job it was a test with a twist.

What started the whole mess was an accusation made against God's nature. For a modern paraphrase Satan made the accusation that people only like you God when you give them stuff, take away their stuff and they will curse you.

Here is the question, could that accusation go uncontested? If it did then all humanity would be able, and IMO rightly so, to question His justice. Picking winners and losers isn't simply unjust, it is also favoritism.

So, the proposition could only be proved through the life of a mortal man namely Job. It set up an interesting dilemma in that Job felt abandoned and he must have felt like nobody was paying attention in heaven. Meanwhile, in heaven I suppose all eyes were focused on the events surrounding Job, to see if the accusation was correct.

Given the situation with Job as an example, if we maintain our integrity we are able to see His nature and His commitment to us. Then we learn going forward that He owes us nothing, but has given us everything in Jesus our Lord.

That, too, is a great truth of God!

[king'sbloomingrose]

Some morning reflections on the subject of suffering:

We're not saved and sanctified to be decorational pots that everyone admires and says well done! God saved us on this earth and put us down here to suffer. To be like His Son, and if it means suffering a little or a whole lot, then so be it. Suffering is a very beautiful, precious thing. It's not the suffering itself that is so precious, but the faith that the suffering produces. That no matter what happens to us or our bodies, we know that we are God's children. And sometimes in the middle of perplexing trials, remember this. Does not Jesus deserve the reward of HIS sufferings? You never know who is watching your life. You may be the only Bible that they ever take the time to read. Say, what is the gospel of Jesus according to you? If we are called to be like Jesus, then we too must walk thru the valley of suffering, for there is no other way home. There is no other way than the path that He walked. If our lives are poured out like a drink offering for God's use, then so be it. I don't love suffering any more than another person. Frankly, it hurts! But this is the way He chose to make His grace and glory known to the rest of the world and all the angels. He chose the weak things of this world to confound the wise.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

[mattfivefour]

Exactly, Holly! Just as the light hidden in Gideon's clay jars could not do the Lord's work until the jars were broken, so too His light cannot shine out from us until we, too, are broken ... not so we may be destroyed but that our flesh and our reliance on our flesh may be taken away so that when people see us they see Christ.

[Meg]

Wow amazing testimony

Its been quite a journey, Word Divine! There is a new postscript though. Last year, after so much emptiness and deep searching in the Lord, He granted me a husband. I never dreamed I would marry so late in life, I was about to turn 50 when we met!

There have been times when I felt useless, times when I felt like a failure, but the Lord said I am neither in His eyes. He has led me far, very far, from the outlaw I was for most of my life, filled my heart with His grace and His peace. Thats how it is with Jesus Christ, a reality atheists seem to find easy to miss... God is rarely found in the spotlight. It seems we must seek Him to find Him, but when we do seek and especially when we break through, the wisdom, kindness and insights that come from God are more beautiful, wide and deep than anything we could find in any other way.

So please don't be discouraged or intimidated by this thread, when the going gets weird, God really, really shines, because thats usually when we discover that Jesus Christ is alive, has His own thoughts and ideas, and that He's a lot finer than anyone or anything we could ever imagine. I am praying for you, that you discover these precious things in Him in the near future.

[WordDivine]

the story of job is very simple to understand

No matter what you go through ups and downs including facing death
Just remain faithful and a servant to GOD and GOD will see you through and bless you

and don't confuse those blessings to be riches,
that blessing can come in different forms according to GOD will
it can be physically spiritually or any aspect of your life including the ultimate blessing entering his kingdom when you die