When The Prophet Job came to terms with losing his wealth, wife, children, and position in his community, his response was:
"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
Job never wavered, standing firm in the face of his many losses, by continuing to remain faithful to The Father. Job managed to retain a home to shelter him, and sufficient funds to feed him, and cover his expenses. Most of his friends melted away, with the few remaining declaring that Job was being punished for his many misdeeds. The Father declared that Job was "blameless and upright."
During periods of hardship our confidence in God's help, and guidance provides us with encouragement, filled with hope that our circumstances will change for the better.
Our Father invites us to remain humble, to trust Him to rescue us from our trials, assisting us to cope patiently with our painful slide into depression.
It is during our periods of desperation that The Father prunes us, and prepares us for the next chapter in our life, by inviting us to remain faithful to His plan that will resurrect us from our pit of misery.
Job had his doubts for time was passing, and nothing appeared to be happening to reverse Job's bad luck losing his wealth. There were moments when Job asked God why he had deserved God's wrath, especially when his suffering was extending into months, even years of patiently waiting for the storm to pass.
To endure under trial is to recognise the presence of Our Father at our side feeding us with all that we will ever need to complete our journey of self discovery.
Job’s perseverance ensured that he would surmount every difficulty that he encountered, leading him to recover all that he had lost; and more, for his eyes were opened when his family, and many friends deserted him at a time he needed them most. It is during our times of testing that we discover our fair weather companions, and those who remain loyal despite our reduced circumstances.
"And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning,"~Job 42:12.
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