“Happy are those who keep his decrees and seek Him with all their heart.” Psalm 119:2 CSB
I studied the book of Job last year and fell in love with it in a way I never have before. One of the first lessons I learned is how we get stuck on the conversation between God and Satan. The book starts out with a brief conversation that ends with Satan being allowed to have his way with Job. And he does, Job loses everything but his wife: kids, job, assets, all of it. Job’s response after all of this has happened:
“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.” Job 1:20 NIV
There’s another brief conversation between Satan and God in chapter 2. After that, Satan is gone. The rest of the book is about Job’s friends and how Job never turns from God. How he keeps seeking Him throughout all of this misery. God is quiet for the majority of the book, but in the last few chapters He speaks. Job is restored everything in double portion and goes on to live a long life.
The problem is, people miss out on the best part because they get so hung up on the conversation between God and Satan. They get caught up on the fact that God allows Satan to have his way with Job. There are 42 chapters in the book of Job, only 14 verses encapsulate both of these conversations. I know what happened to Job is devastating. I pray none of us ever experience anything remotely similar to what Job endured. But learn from the man that lost everything. Do what He did.
Fall to your knees and praise the Lord. Understand nothing we have on this earth is permanent. It is all temporary. Bad things will happen, but the Lord remains constant in the good and the bad. Don’t get caught up in a few verses and miss what the rest of the book says. Keep your eye on the ball. Seek God in all circumstances. Cry out to Him and you too will be blessed in double portions.
