| | 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. - Job 1:1-5 (ESV)
As I continually deal with my latest trial I know that God is there helping me to pull me out of the pit. Yet I feel very convicted about this. It's not wrong to run to God when things are going badly, and it's something that He desires that I do. After all, He is my Father, my Comforter, and my Rock. When I am in trouble and despair, the thing that I want to cling onto 24/7 is God. Yet, when things are going well...extremely well, is my attitude the same? Do I want to cling and attach myself to God in good times? Sure, I may give Him praise occasionally, but do I involve Him with the good things in my life?
Isn't this the very reason that Job offered burnt offerings after the feasts held by his children, because he understood that they were prone to sin in good times. Sure, there are examples in Scripture that show people who sinned more and more as they continued to suffer through a hardening of their hearts, but there are numerous examples of people who sinned and forgot about God when things were going well. It was a continuous cycle with the Israelites. They would constantly forget about God when they hadn't faced any adversity for a period of years. Then God would remove His hand of protection over them, some other nation would come and attack them, they would cry out for help, God would hear their repentance, He would save them, the Israelites would celebrate, but then they'd eventually forget God again and the cycle would repeat itself.
Do I really desire to live in this cycle? Of course not! Whenever God draws me out of my trials, I want to remember that God is good during my times of rejoicing and blessing. I want to be desperate for more of Him in times of trials and celebrations. I want to hunger and thirst for Him in all the seasons of my life. Lord, help me to remember how good You really are when I'm in good times.
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| | Posted 1/20/2009 11:56 AM - 7 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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