October 29th

Hijacking the Lo-Jacker

Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters...After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days. Job 42:1213,16-17

I wonder what Job would say if he knew that his name was synonymous with suffering and loss.

Would he agree with us that his life was defined by the things he lost? Or would he argue that his life was better depicted in his faithfulness through the trial and the blessings he received in his latter days?

I think we can know the answer very easily, because Job's response to his loss tells me where he found his identity. We can learn a lot from him, so let's look at his journey.

Job's story picks up when he is already the richest man in the East. He is blessed beyond blessing beyond proportion beyond measure. He was the man with the Midas touch in his day. And not only that, but he had a great family, too.

He lost all of that in literally one day. Everything came crashing down and he was left with four servants who had nothing to do and a bitter wife who wanted him to die. Then, next thing he knew, he began suffering from excruciating boils so that his suffering was great both internally and externally in every way.

Yet through it all, he never turned from God. He remained patient and faithful. And in the end, God gave him double what he had lost, even giving him another seven sons and three daughters.

What sustained him through it all are the things the devil could never take away from him-his faith, his identity, and his will to honor God in his words and his attitude.

Because his life was defined by God and not by his possessions-even his children-then he was not destroyed when he lost those things, even though it was painful. He was able to remain steadfast and wait for the faithfulness of God to redeem him.

Are you grounded in a God-centered identity? If you are, then you can be like Job as he would want to be remembered-unshakable regardless the storm or pain, faithful to the end, and rewarded of God.

Prayer Lord God,

You are my God and my faith is in You alone! I will not put my faith in the things I own, because You are my provider. No matter what, I choose to stay in You, and trust that You will redeem and restore my life no matter what I may face.

Amen