Hi, I’m Pastor Brent of Faith Alive Family Church in Saskatoon, Canada. Welcome to God Today. I want to read a scripture. In Ephesians chapter 3, verse 10, says, “This is so that God’s multifaceted wisdom might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.” Did you know that you’re on display for everyone to see? I want to talk to you really quickly about what to do when stuff happens in your life. What do we do? How do we respond when bad things happen? The book of Peter tells us not to be surprised or put on the spot when bad things happen to us but to learn and understand and realize what’s going on. And for that, we need to understand the Book of Job. Job can be a theological conundrum for some people, but for me, it’s pretty easy. It’s a book that shows what to do when bad things happen. And of course, Job went through the most horrific experiences that anybody could go through. More than any of us normally are going to suffer. But, It’s done as a precedent, it’s done to show us something.
I want to explain to you today the reason why bad things happen, why stuff happens. It’s because we have an enemy on the Earth. When Satan rebelled against God, God threw him down to the Earth. I don’t know why God sent him here, he threw him down in the midst of man. I think that God should have taken him and his whiny band of misfits and thrown them in a black hole, or stuffed them in a can and sent them in the middle of the Earth, or just annihilated them. But, instead he chose to throw them in the midst of mankind.
In the story of Job we find Satan coming into God’s presence and God asks him, “Hey, have you seen my servant, Job? Who is upright and full of integrity and hates evil?” And Satan says to Him, “Well, touch his stuff or touch his body and he’ll surely turn on you and curse your face.”
“But not so”, God says, “not Job”. And sure enough, when bad things happen to Job he keeps his integrity and he does not blame God. And in fact, he shows Satan and he shows all the principalities and all the powers that rebelled against God who the true sons of God really are. And I want to encourage you today. When bad things happen, when trials come your way, try to understand that there is a reason for it. You have an enemy who is trying to separate you from God. So I want to encourage you today, instead of blaming God or feeling like it’s a hopeless situation, instead turn to God and trust God.
Let me finish by reading in the book of James, which helps us understand what the end of Job is or what the end of your suffering is – your trial. And here it is in James chapter 5, verse 10, “Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering in patience.” See we need patience in suffering. Why? Because the end is good…”See we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” And we know that Job’s life, even though he lost a lot, he gained more in the end. So I want to encourage you today. That when you do go through bad things, when stuff does happen, just remember to trust God, knowing that your outcome is good.
Let’s pray. Father, I thank you today, for those who are listening, for those who are watching on this devotion. And Lord, I pray for strength to endure, I pray for patience to endure, and Lord I pray that they would have faith in you, knowing that the outcome of all this stuff (when stuff happens) is that you are good, you are compassionate, and you are merciful and their outcome is good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.