Clichés often carry much wisdom. How true it is that when we have our health, we have everything! Job would certainly ascribe to this. Because of circumstances completely out of his control, i.e. Satan wishing to prove a man’s unfaithfulness to God, Job was the target. It could have been him; it could be you or me.
The inexplicable attack on everything Job held dear caused him to wish for better times. He yearned in Job 29:2:
“Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me.”
When we look back, don’t we inevitably wish for the good old days? That was Job. In the subsequent verses, he related how things were previously so good in his life. He felt that his walk with God was secure, and he served Him in many useful ways. There was nothing in Job’s estimation that should have caused the affliction that he suffered.
He had lost everything. Whereas before he was esteemed by men; now they laughed at him. He felt that his cries to God went unheard as He stood idly by (Job 30:20):
“I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you only look at me.”
It’s certainly understandable that he might have such a reaction to his situation.
Reading about Job’s troubles made me reflect on a woman whose writings I follow. Claudia is an incredible woman of God. Her evangelistic zeal is amazing; and because she’s so willing, God uses her in literally every life circumstance to witness for Him and to bring lost souls into His kingdom. I love this woman and what God has done in her life! You’ll see what I mean in a moment.
Claudia has numerous health issues. I don’t know her personally, so I have no idea exactly what’s going on with her, just that periodically it gets serious. The thing of it is, she doesn’t let her afflictions get in the way of her love for the Lord and her desire to please him regardless how lousy she may feel. Rather than complain about her lot in life, she sees it as an opportunity. If she’s homebound because of her condition and a workman comes in for a job around her house, she believes God has allowed her to be there for that person. If she goes to the hospital, as the following link describes, she knows that because of her willingness to be the Lord’s bondservant, He will bring people her way who need Him. She is there to minister in His Name.
This link takes you to her latest narrative:
https://www.soulsaviour.org/a-sickbed-and-souls/
Claudia has been out of commission for a while because of the seriousness of her health condition. This is the first that she’s apparently been able to write for some time. I recommend that you explore some of her prior salvation stories. You will be blessed and perhaps brought to tears as I am sometimes.
The connection with Job should be obvious. When we find ourselves beset on all sides by adversity, what do we do? (I’m preaching to myself here as well as to any who read this.) Do we lament as Job did, “Oh, poor me. The days of old were so much better; I wish they’d return.”? Or, do we engage with others as Claudia does and use every opportunity to lift up the Name of Jesus?
I’d like to think that I would do that, but I also know that I fail miserably sometimes. There’s a wonderful verse in Isaiah 30:15 that may help me or anyone else:
For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling.
Only by turning to God will all things turn out right in our lives. It doesn’t mean we won’t have adversity, but only by trusting in Him can we know that He will bless us for keeping Him first and foremost. The question is: “Are we willing to do that?” In this verse, the Israelites weren’t willing, yet think of how much better it would have been for them if they had been so!
Job never lost his faith in God; he did, however, have serious questions. When – not if – we have trials and tribulations, let us not walk off the cliff in despair. If we can trust like Claudia, can you imagine how much God can use us and what an adventure that might be!