REMEMBER JOB

'Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.' - James 5 vs 11

Greetings to you dearly beloved of God in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I want us to take a look at our opening Bible passage from the God's Word translation (GW) for a very precise presentation of the verse:

'We consider those who endure to be blessed. You have heard about Job’s endurance. You saw that the Lord ended Job’s suffering because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.' - James 5 vs 11 {GW}

• those who endure
• You have heard of Job's endurance
• the Lord ended Job's suffering
• because the Lord is compassionate and merciful

Waow! Explicit. The context of the Apostle's discussion in this verse, which began from the verse 7 is patience in suffering. You can begin reading from the verse 7 to have a full grasp of the context. Here in the verse 11, he cited Job as an example of patience in suffering - he said, "You have heard of Job's endurance..." He went forward to explicitate the compassion of God, he says, "You saw that the Lord ended Job's suffering..." The King James Version puts it as "the Lord is very pitiful".

Dearly beloved, what are you going through? Beloved child of God, what's that challenge, what's that hardship, what's that condition or situation that you are in that has wearied you so much and brought you to much tears? Beloved, remember Job! Nothing new is happening to you now that the patriarchs of Faith didn't experience in their time on earth. But guess what? They had a good report of faith; they had a good report of endurance; they had a good report of patience in suffering. Remember Job. The Bible is a book that contains our Family profile, family album and family history. If you want to know what happens in this family of God that you are a member of, and what does not happen, look into the Bible, and see how men worked with God! See how your Old Testament brothers and sisters worked with God, see how the early New Testaments brethren worked with God, consider the end of their work with God, it was beauty and thanksgiving. God came through! God will come through for you.

'You, too, must be patient. Don’t give up hope. The Lord will soon be here.' - James 5 vs 8 {GW}

• Don't give up hope
• The Lord will soon be here

This should be your greatest consolation in your hardship, "You won't be in this world forever, very soon you will be with the Lord." This should console your heart every time, as you patiently wait for God to intervene in your situation.

DON'T GIVE UP HOPE

This is not the time to consider prospering by evil and wicked devices, because you are faced with hardship. No! You have come too far, you have burnt your bridges, there's no going back! It's Jesus till you die! This should be your resolve. Persecution/suffering is the true test of a Believer.

'That same day Jesus left the house and sat down by the Sea of Galilee. 

The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat. He sat in the boat while the entire crowd stood on the shore. 

Then he used stories as illustrations to tell them many things. He said, “Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. 

Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. 

Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. 

But when the sun came up, they were scorched. They withered because their roots weren’t deep enough. 

Other seeds were planted among thornbushes, and the thornbushes grew up and choked them. 

But other seeds were planted on good ground and produced grain. They produced one hundred, sixty, or thirty times as much as was planted. 

Let the person who has ears listen!”' - Matthew 13 vs 1 - 9 {GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION}

Pay attention to verse 5 and 6: THE SEEDS PLANTED ON ROCKY GROUND

The Lord Jesus later gave the interpretation of the parable. So let's see the interpretation of the seeds planted on rocky ground:

'The seed planted on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and accepts it at once with joy. 

Since he doesn’t have any root, he lasts only a little while. When suffering or persecution comes along because of the word, he immediately falls from faith.' - Matthew 13 vs 20 - 21 {GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION}

• When suffering or persecution comes along
• because of the Word
• he immediately falls from Faith

Waow! Did you notice that the Lord said that the suffering and persecution come because of the Word? Woaw! That's profound. That means, every trial/suffering/persecution that comes at a Believer is a direct attack on his faith, it's a test of his faith, it's a trying of his faith. Think about that. But sadly, this category of Believers fell from Faith into darkness and ungodly practices because the word of God they thought they knew before suffering came wasn't deep seated in them, they were not convinced about those Truths they believed, though they claimed to believe the Truths/revelations of the Word, yet those teachings didn't translate into their convictions. So when suffering came, because those Truths were not translated into convictions in them, they fell off! That's when you'll see a former brother who was on fire for the Lord, now into fraud and drugs; a former sister who served the Lord with a pure conscience now absolutely messed up and far from the church! Why? They weren't really convinced about the things they believed. This is the message the Lord communicated in that parable of the seeds that were planted on rocky ground.

Beloved, this shouldn't be you! Let the word of God become your conviction! See what Job said in his affliction:

'God may kill me, but still I will trust him and offer my defense.' - Job 13 vs 15 {CEV}

• God may kill me, but still I will trust Him

Oooo! What a man! What a man Job was! A good example of a Believer he is. This is the reason he was used as an example by the Apostle James to exhort the brethren to be patient in suffering. We have read the verses above. God may kill me, but still I will trust Him. Kaiiii!!!

See what he said in another place:

'I know that my Savior lives, and at the end he will stand on this earth. 

My flesh may be destroyed, yet from this body I will see God. 

Yes, I will see him for myself, and I long for that moment.' - Job 19 vs 25 - 27 {CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION}

This Job was willing and ready to hold on to God even till death! His affliction had nothing on him! His suffering couldn't change his faith in God. Even his wife became fed up with the situation; see what she said to Job:

'his wife asked, "Why do you still trust God? Why don't you curse him and die?"' - Job 2 vs 9 {CEV}

See Job's reply to her, the next verse:

'Job replied, "Don't talk like a fool! If we accept blessings from God, we must accept trouble as well." In all that happened, Job never once said anything against God.' - Job 2 vs 10 {CEV}

• In all that happened, Job never once said anything against God

What a man! What a Believer! This is what a true follower of Christ looks like. Undeterred! Unmovable! Always abounding in faith, hope and patience towards God. Hallelujah!

Dear friend, this is the word of the Lord to you right now. Remember Job! Learn from Job's story, and strengthen your heart in God, as you stay patient, patiently serving the Lord in season and out of season, trusting God still in spite of all odds and discouragements. Remember Job! The Lord will soon be here! And guess what..., even if God doesn't come through for us as we expect, we will yet still trust him till the end. But James reassures our hearts of the Lord's compassion, he says:

'Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.' - James 5 vs 11 {KJV}

• the Lord is very pitiful

'We consider those who endure to be blessed. You have heard about Job’s endurance. You saw that the Lord ended Job’s suffering because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.' - James 5 vs 11 {GW}

• the Lord ended Job's suffering because the Lord is compassionate and merciful

Hallelujah! Let these words reassure your heart and strengthen you. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

- Jenning U. Angel