Exposition
The Scripture reading for the day tells the story of a man called Job who is described as a good man who loved God. Satan challenged God, saying that Job was only good because he had a happy life. God allowed Satan to put Job’s faith to the test by causing him to suffer. Job lost his livestock, his servants and all his children. He felt very devastated, but he remained faithful and praised God. He also suffered horrible weeping sores all over his body. His wife even told him to curse God and die, but Job refused. Eventually, God appeared to Job and He (God) asked impossible questions that showed Job how little he could understand God’s ultimate plan.
Job was humbled by this encounter, and at last appreciated that God’s unlimited power cannot be fully understood by human beings. In the end, God restored his health and gave him twice as much property as before, more children and a very long and prosperous life.
Beloved, often you may wonder why God allows something, and may question or doubt God’s goodness, without seeing the full picture. The story teaches us to trust God under all circumstances. You must trust God even in your difficult moments. Psalm 18:30 reads, “As for God, His way is perfect”. If God’s ways are “perfect,” then we can trust that whatever He does and whatever He allows is also perfect. This may not seem possible to you, but your responsibility to God is to obey Him, trust Him, and to submit to His will, whether you understand it or not.