Job 23



Have you heard the song 'Your Love Never Fails'? Well it pretty much talks about through everything, good and bad, 'Your Love Never Fails'. The bridge of the songs says 'You make, all things, work together for my good.' 

I am absolutely in love with the fact that God has a plan for each and every one of us! It's some time hard for people to believe that when we see no ending to our suffering or hardship. God sees where we will end up and knows how we will get there. If we trust in Him that He has a great plan for us, we just need to follow Him and He will guide us along the way. 

I came across Job 23 which talks about hardship and suffering through getting were we want to get. 
Most people say the Bible is simple and it is what it says. Well I had a hard time understanding this chapter but I understood what I read and this is what I got out of it  

Before reading the whole chapter, I read; 'But God knows me. He is testing me and will see that I am as pure as gold. (Job 23:10 ERV)' So I based everything else I read from this chapter off that verse. 

Job feels like God is making him suffer and His hand is heavy in spite. God is just! Even if you feel as if it's unfair the situation you are in and don't understand why you're in this circumstance; God is just. Are you trusting in God fully? Do you believe in Him without question? 
The question that comes up is 'Why am I going through this if there is a God?' We need to understand that we are living in a world where everyone has free will. Meaning we can do whatever we want but we need to deal with the consequences. If we put ourselves in a situation that we eventually find is too hard for us to deal with, we can either:
1. Try and get ourselves out of the problem  
Or
2. Pray for God's guidance and believe that He will get you our of this certain situation

Job goes looking for God and claims that He is no where to be found. God is always near. We are the ones that push Him so far out of our lives. We push Him out of schools, holidays and even our lives. Yet, when something terrible in the world happens we question, 'Where's God? Why did He let this happen?' 
To be able to expect God to do things for us, in a Godly way, we need to accept Him, love Him, serve Him, worship Him and most of all believe in Him! If we do this continuously and set that as our life goal, God will set us on the right path and guide us every step of the way. 

But God knows me. He is testing me and will see that I am as pure as gold. Job 23:10
The major question in this chapter and in this book of Job is 'Why is there suffering?' 
God knows our path and He will test us. Our purpose is to obey Him. Always obey Him. Stay with him without turning away. 

The mains bullets to answer 'Why Am I Suffering?' :
It strengthens our character
Produces our perseverance
Proves our faith in God is genuine. Praying through these sufferings will strengthen our faith in God. It will make us a stronger Christian, because even in our toughest trials, we are loving God and believing He will see us out. 

Shows we honor God
Removes our sinful attitude

Makes it more clear that we are God's children. Parents discipline their children, through love, to help them grow to be respectful, loving people. In the same way God puts us in tough situations to help us grow in God. 
Also shows that God is pleased with us and He reveals Himself through these testings. 

Therefore, we should be thankful for His trials He puts us through. We should be grateful! For God is pleased that we are relying on Him to get us through. 

The BIG part about this though is, I mean all these words for Christians. True believers in Christ. If you aren't a born again Christian and you have troubles in your life and ask God for help, then when everything is going well you don't awknowlegde Him at all, are you really a Christian. 
A friend of mine who is pursuing Youth Ministries said he used this example for the kids he was preaching to: 'Are You a Netflix Christian?' Meaning, do you subscribe to Christ only when you feel like it? For an example, when you feel like you need him; suffering, pain, grievance or sickness? 


Don't expect God to work in your favor always when you only serve Him sometimes. 

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