John 16:33
Jesus Says We Will Have Troubles in Life
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Job 1:1-22
Prologue of Job
1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
When Jesus said we will have troubles in this world, Job would completely understand that statement...Job watched out and prayed for his children...He was a good man and a good father...He was the greatest man among all the people of the East...He was said by God to be like no one else...There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil...But as Jesus had said life has problems sometimes... We do not like troubles, but we can look to Jesus and His Father to help us...
As we read the Book of Job, we see that he suffered more than once and more than one time in his life...And his problems seem to come quickly, when they come and they come in bunches...Job lost his family and servants and livestock in separate events...What great tragedies in Job's life to lose all you have including your servants, and then your family...Job was a man who had prospered, but wealth and prosperity are not security against evil and troubles of this world...
Job also possessed other wisdom and goodness, but there are troubles in this world which we sometimes cannot escape...And the evil one is lurking...Job's wisdom and goodness could not help him from these troubles..
We learn a great lesson in the Book of Job and that is wealth and prosperity are no hedge in life for troubles and problems...Prosperity is not what helps the soul, but it is faith that is the medicine for the soul...
The evil one would do all he could to provoke Job, and to have Job say something negative against the LORD...To lose all he had would be a tragedy, but to lose his children would be devastating...His most valuable things in life, his children were now gone...And as we read from the very start of Job, we see that he stands firm with God...Job gathers himself after his great troubles and does not charge God with any wrongdoing for his problems and troubles that have happened in his life...Job understood that the Lord gave him what he had and now the Lord had taken those things away; may the name of the Lord be praised...God is in control in good times and bad times...Job understood this...