Today’s Word: Job went through a great trial of his faith. Although he’d done nothing wrong, he lost his children, his business, and his health in a short period of time. At first, he got discouraged and started to get bitter, but Job turned it around. When it seemed as though he had lost all hope, he looked up to the heavens and said, “But I know my Redeemer lives.” He was saying, “I know God is still on the throne and will vindicate me.” Job made the decision to put on a fresh new attitude, and when he passed the test, he eventually came out with twice what he had before.
In the Scripture, when Job was in the middle of loss and heartache, it looked like he had seen his best days. Everything had gone wrong. But God said to him, “I will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.” This was in chapter eight, and things didn’t turn around until chapter 42. I can imagine Job sitting in the ashes, discouraged, thinking about all that had gone wrong. He was tempted to feel sorry for himself, give up on life, but then He remembered what God promised. “He’s going to fill my mouth with laughter.” When that test was over, Job came out with twice what he had before.
The Scripture says, “When Job prayed for his friends, he got well.” When he served others, he went higher. If he had stayed focused on himself, he would have stayed where he was. But something powerful happens when you get your mind off yourself and you go out and be good to somebody else.
In difficult times, it’s tempting to get sour. You have to draw a line in the sand and say, “I am not going to let hurts and disappointments poison me with a bad attitude and keep me from becoming who I was created to be.” You have to let it go. It’s over and done. Move forward. That’s what allows God to bring you out better.
There will be moments in life where people will try to underestimate you, to look down on you, but don’t let the way they treat you determine your value. God will take everything you think is not enough and turn it in more than enough.
God has a plan for your life, but He doesn’t show you all the details. If He showed you what He has in store, where He’s taking you, it would excite and amaze you. But if you saw what it’s going to take to get you there—the giants and Pharaohs you’ll face, the lonely nights, the betrayals, the closed doors—you would think, “I’ll just stay where I am.” God doesn’t show us the details because He knows we would talk ourselves out of it. If you can’t figure out how something is ever going to work out, and you start getting worried, that’s a sign God doesn’t want you to know. You have to be comfortable not knowing.
When you say, “God, I don’t see a way or have the answer for how this situation can work out, but I trust You,” that attitude of faith is what allows God to do great things. He had the solution before you had the problem. Pass the test and simply trust Him.
PRAYER FOR TODAY – JOEL OSTEEN 15TH SEPTEMBER 2022: Father, thank You that no matter what I go through, You are my Redeemer and my vindicator. Thank You that You can bring me out of difficulties better off than I was before they showed up. Help me to declare that You live and are on the throne in the tough times. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
