Tests//Trials

in one of the last Young Life small groups that my group had for the school year, we were talking about relying on God completely and what it looks like when we allow Him to be enough for us. During our time together, our leader encouraged us all to read the book of Job because it was a beautiful explanation of relying solely on God and especially in trials putting your dependence in Him.

I can now say over a month later, I have finally finished reading the book of Job. It took me awhile, but I am so glad I finished the book because I think I learned a lot.

If you haven't read this book of the Bible, I definitely encourage you to do so. No book has illustrated a better picture of what it's like to be a Christian and a follower of Christ, and what it means to trust in the Lord.

I think for a lot of people, they assume once you accept Christ and follow Him, everything else gets easier from there. I honestly think it's kind of the opposite. But even though so many things do get harder, so many things get easier and better, too.

For Job, the book begins somewhere in the middle of his life. He is older, has children, and essentially everything he could ever want or need. He is wealthy. He is also a follower of Christ. The wording of my Bible says that Job is "blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). Job loved the Lord and was devoted to Him.

Eventually, God allows the devil to have his way over Job, so long as Job himself is not harmed. When I first read this, I thought it was interesting that God let the devil do this and didn't really seem like He saw an issue with it.

So, the devil began "ruining" Job's life (as a human perspective might say). Job's house collapsed on his family, he was afflicted with painful diseases, etc. And still, through all this, the Bible said that Job did not sin and rather Job said that God gives us good and bad, and we should accept both (see Job 2:10).

From here, a large majority of the book is about Job trying to figure out the meaning of these tests and like any other human being, he spends some time questioning God and wondering why he was put into these situations. For us, it is often times hard to see the reason without the end result. But throughout this time, Job is still faithful to God and even though he may not understand, he knows who he serves and that God is there for him.

As I began to think about the importance of this story, I was instantly brought to mind the concept of "bad things happening to good people". I think that often times, this concept is what turns away people from the love of God, is because they can't fathom why a loving, powerful, and sovereign God might allow something terrible to happen to us.

While I don't really have an answer, this book has been one (of many examples) of this happening to people who loved the Lord throughout the Bible as well as throughout time. For me, finishing this book and really contemplating the meaning could not come at a more valuable and necessary time.

There has been instances in my life recently where things just haven't seemed to go the way I thought or hoped they would. Unfortunately, I don't think life could really ever be perfect for anyone, regardless of whether you believe in God since we live in a world full of evil, disease, and just a place in general that isn't "perfect".

For me, I try to choose to see bad situations in a different light. Rather than seeing them as "God putting me in bad situations" I want to see it as "God bringing me through bad situations". And while God did allow for the devil to affect Job, He did it so that He could prove to Job that He was capable of bringing Him through these situations. He wanted to show Job that he didn't need all the material things, just a relationship with Christ.

At the end, after the tests were over, Job was given even more than he had before. At the end of the day, God provides us with exactly the things we need, and if we put our trust in Him 100%, we are blessed beyond imaginable.

I think for me, this is the truth that I need to constantly be reminded of. I serve a faithful God -- a God that provides me with everything I need. He loves me more than I can possibly imagine and will bring me through any situation -- and He wouldn't put me in a situation He couldn't bring me out of. How wonderful is that?

I'll finish by leaving my favorite verse from this book:

"But He knows the way I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold" - Job 23:10


xoxo,
Kenzie