Miracles at the last moment -7

Introduction Job 42:2 “I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.” When the Lord’s work in our life is in in-progress mode, we might feel a little down. Sometimes we might even think that we are going to lose and might give up. But the hands of the Lord will never forsake us at any moment. The Lord will guide us till the end to obtain the ultimate victory. Today, let us mediate on the life of Job and see how the Lord does miracles at the last moment. Victory over principalities of darkness Job 2:6 “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.” Over here we see the Lord himself allows Satan to test Job with a condition. The Lord allowed this temptation to fall on Job. But the intentions of Satan and God is different. From this incident, we can understand that nobody has the right to touch us without God’s knowledge. We need to understand that Job earned a very good report from the Lord himself. This we read in Job 1:21 ‘And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?’ Satan tried attacking Job from the people around him. He was troubled with fire and strong winds. But Job did not give up. Even Job’s friends that came to visit him thought Job was punished because he was unrighteous. But Job knew the purpose behind his sufferings. In Job 1:21 ‘And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ Job saying that God gave this is an easy phrase to say. But confessing that God has taken away is a challenge. Job glorifies the name of God. The Lord gave him a victory over the principalities of darkness that surrounded him. None of us would confess such way if we were him. Though Job was given under a very fatal situation, the Lord put a fence around him. He did not allow Satan to take over Job completely. Even in our lives, Satan might try to touch us using the people around us. But the hands of the Lord God will shield us from all evil spirits. Victory over diseases Job 2:7-8 “So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.” The above passage we see the sufferings of Job. The sickness of his made him suffer so much physically. It disfigured his appearance. We read in Job 19:20 ‘My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.’ Theologians believe that Job possibly had a form of leprosy or elephantiasis. In Job 2:9 ‘Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.’ Here we see his wife asks him to curse God as she was not able to see his sufferings. On seeing his husband’s sickness she was filled with unbelief which is the reason why she asks him to curse God. In Job 1:11 ‘But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.’ In this passage, we see Satan wants to test him more. He wanted to pluck away all that Job had so that he will curse God. Satan imagines many things and tries to predict what might happen to Job. But the Lord took control of his whole life. The sickness failed to shake the immense faith Job had on the Lord God. This gave him the victory over his sickness. Victory over men Job 2:11,13 “Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.” We see Job’s friends came to console him. After they see him, they did no utter a single word. The plight of Job was so pathetic so they were spellbound. For one whole week they kept quiet. But finally they ended up accusing Job. They had an incorrect understanding that God blesses only the righteous and inflicts diseases over the unrighteous. They thought Job had to go through all this because of his sins. But Job knew the divine revelation of God and he was completely aware of what is happening around him. Job was not carried away by their accusations. Their understanding might be justified in the worldly wisdom but Godly wisdom is different. Even in our lives, people around us might confuse us and end up hindering the blessings of God. Blessings Post-Victory Job 42:7 ‘And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.’ – God stood on Job’s side. The Lord’s anger is kindled against his friends. The Lord never accuses Job like his friends. The Lord discounts all their insignificant arguments with Job. Job 42:10 ‘And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.’ – The Lord reestablishes Job. He restores Job double fold. Key learnings -The Lord has authority over all the powers and principalities on earth. -The Lord has the final say in all the things. -The Lord did not punish Job for his unrighteousness. The Lord wanted Job to inherit and fulfill the higher purposes. -Job lived a life of testimony as we read in James 5:11 ‘Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.’

Amen