Bible Reading: Job 11,12&13; Acts 9:1-21
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him” Job 13:15 (KJV)
The above statement is a statement of absolute surrender to the authority of a superior personality. Job made that statement at the peak of his misfortune expressing his total submission to the will of the Almighty God. The book of Job is indeed a study on endurance. Despite his immense suffering he refused to curse God as suggested by his wife. Our time of affliction should be a learning period. It can be converted to a time of inculcating great virtues. Trusting God in adversity is a demonstration of a well-grounded believe and it is a great virtue worthy of emulation. Knowing God is one thing but trusting him in times of adversity is a commendable virtue. Job, in the above quote, did not only demonstrate his trust in God but avowed to maintain his righteous way of life which God himself attested to.
Trusting God and living a righteous life makes a man a recipient of divine abundance. No wonder Job was adjudged as the richest man in the east, which invariably made him the richest in the world as at that time when the east was the richest segment of the world. It was this trust that led Job to proclaim in Job 19:25 (KJV), “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” Job was not privy to the source of his suffering but his trust in God propelled him to utter words of deep conviction in God. Patience, resilience and perseverance are virtues that are required for success in ones’ pursuit in life. When these virtues are combined with trust in God it produces matchless attainments. Patience and diligence are virtues associated with trusting God. The statement of Apostle Paul in Hebrews 10:36 (KJV) comes to mind. “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” Just like Jesus Christ trusted The Father to give Him victory in His sacrificial assignment by raising Him from the death, we as His followers must trust Him to the end no matter the situation we find ourselves. We must borrow leave from Job. One characteristic of God that that is lacking today among believers is longsuffering. Longsuffering is a combination of patience and endurance. God allowed what happened to Job but it was not God that slay him. The character Job demonstrated in his period of suffering is a reflection of who he was and why he prospered much.
My dear reader the one who bore the shame and humiliation of the cross without sin, putting His trust on His father to deliver Him from the power of the grave is Jesus Christ. He beckons on you to come to Him for your salvation and peace. He is the custodian of the virtue of Patience, come and learn from Him for your victory over life situations that can be sometimes very unpleasant.
Prayer: Father help me to trust you irrespective of the situation and condition I find myself.
Bro. Joel Ezeugo