Truths To Believe And Act Upon

I know You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
–Job 42:2

One of the greatest illustrations in the Bible of someone who took up the shield of faith is the character of Job. He loved and obeyed God, but that did not exempt him from intense suffering. In a brief period, Job lost his ten children, he lost all of his possessions, and he lost his health. Yet how did Job respond? He believed in God’s promises, and he acted accordingly. From Job’s life, I want to share with you three truths about God that you have to believe and act upon if you are going to survive Satan’s attacks against you.

First of all, God is in control; therefore, trust Him. Now, to believe that God is in control of the world in general or your world specifically is not always easy. After all, if God is really in control of your life, why did He allow you to lose that job? Why are you going through this financial difficulty? Why did He take that loved one from you? It is very difficult to believe that God is in control, and Job struggled with it too. When Job had lost everything, the enemy slithered up to him in the person of his wife and his three best friends and started to discourage Job: “If God is really in control of your life, why would He allow you to lose everything important to you? Maybe God does not care about you.” Do not be surprised when the enemy launches the same kind of discouraging attacks in your life.

How did Job respond? Even when he was at rock bottom, he said, “I know You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). Job believed that God had a plan for his life, even though that plan was hidden in the darkness. God calls us to believe that He really is in control, and to trust Him because of that.

The second truth that Job believed and acted upon is this: God rewards the righteous; therefore, obey Him. Again, this is sometimes hard to believe. We look around, and we do not see a lot of evidence that God treats righteous and unrighteous people any differently. Unrighteous people contract cancer, and so do righteous people. Unrighteous people have family trouble, and so do righteous people. Unrighteous people die, and so do righteous people. So where is the payoff for obeying God? Job wrestled with that as well. In Job 21:17 he lamented, “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, or does their calamity fall on them?” He was saying, “Why doesn’t the wicked person suffer like I am? What is the purpose of serving You if You are not going to treat me any differently than You treat the unrighteous?” But even though he had momentary doubts, Job persisted in obeying God because he believed there was going to be a payoff one day. The truth is, you will never obey God completely or consistently unless you believe there will be a reward someday for doing so. And God promises such a reward. Hebrews 11:6 says that God “is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” God rewards the righteous, so obey Him.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Storming The Gates Of Hell” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2011.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org