Second Chances: Job
There are times when life is hard and I wonder how much more I can take. There have been times when I’ve wondered if I’m being tested the way Job was. Sometimes I’ve wondered how he dealt with so much pain and loss without becoming bitter and resentful. 
Job is very different from, Jonah, who defied God in the beginning.
The story of Job tells us he was beyond blessed. He had everything he could ever imagine. Then Satan asked to test him and God allowed this to happen. Job lost his livestock, servants and all of his children during this time. However, the one thing he never lost was his faith.
His friends tried to console him, but instead they begin to cast blame. They tell Job he must be suffering because of sin in his life. Job becomes self-righteous in defending himself and grows discouraged. Yet in the end he repents.
‘ Job 42:1-6 tells us,
Then Job replied to the Lord:
“I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Job returned to God and repented. God blesses Job with all he lost and much more.
So what can we learn from Job?
- Pain is never easy
- God uses these trials to refine and shift us
- We will grow discouraged and disheartened
- Sometimes we are blinded by our blessings and overconfidence
- God sees the heart
- God listens and care
- Sometimes God allows things to happen that are not in His perfect will
- God can restore
- Blessings are God’s to give and to take away
How have you been tried and sifted?