God bless you!

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
² When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
³ Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.
(Psalm 27:1-3, New King James Version)
*********************************

¹³ I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD! (Psalm 27:13-14, New King James Version)

⁴ I sought the LORD, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
⁶ This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.

⁸ Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
⁹ Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
¹⁰ The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
(Psalm 34:4-10, New King James Version)
*********************************

¹⁵ The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
¹⁶ The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
¹⁸ The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
(Psalm 34:15-18, New King James Version)
*********************************
¹ Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

⁷ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
(Psalm 37:1-8, New King James Version)
*********************************
¹ God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
³ Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling.  Selah
(Psalm 46:1-3, New King James Version
*********************************
³ Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
⁴ In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?
(Psalm 56:3-4, New King James Version)
*********************************
¹ Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
² From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

³ For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
⁴ I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.  Selah

⁵ For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
⁶ You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.
⁷ He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!

⁸ So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows. (Psalm 61, New King James Version)
*********************************
³ You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
(Isaiah 26:3, New King James Version)
*********************************
¹⁰ Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
(Isaiah 41:10, New King James Version)
*********************************
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
(Isaiah 43:2, New King James Version)
*********************************
²⁵ “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34, New King James Version)
*********************************
²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, New King James Version)
*********************************
⁸ We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, New King James Version)
*********************************
¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, New King James Version)
*********************************
⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, New King James Version)
*********************************
⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
(1 Peter 5:7, New King James Version)
*********************************

Job dealt with ALL of these at the same time. Seeing how Job endured has been a real lesson for me and I thought I’d share this as we are all sure to face our share of trials.

Now nothing that I have ever gone through can ever compare to what Job endured. In a quick series of events, all in one day he lost several servants, then his camels, his sheep and the biggest blow of all, his children. As is that was not enough, he then was plagued by painful boils all over his body.

As he went through his suffering, his relatives failed him, his servants started ignoring him, his wife, who told him to curse God and die, found his breath repulsive, he got no respect from anyone, not even children. Three of his friends who came to mourn with him, intending to comfort him, accused him of having brought all of this on himself as he must be harboring some evil, perverted, un-confessed sins. Job, the man that they accused as some vile creature, is the one that God Himself describes as blameless and upright, one who fears God and shuns evil.

Here is a man who has lost his children and grieves alone. His wife is certainly not his helpmate – he will find no comfort in her. His friends, though well intentioned are adding insult to injury. He is financially ruined. He is in constant physical pain and he is ignored and ostracized. It is no wonder that he is deeply depressed. His grief, his despair, his pain leads him to curse the day that he was born. He describes his grief as being heavier than the sand of the sea. He longs for death….but it does not come. He loathes his life. His pain is more than I have experienced…and even if I try to put myself in his place, I am sure my imagination falls short.

He isn’t feeling God in this trial.

“Look, I go forward, but He is not there,

And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;

When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.” Job 23:8-9

That I can relate to. There are some trials where you feel God’s arms carrying you and His presence sweetly soothing your pain. But there are some trials, where you don’t sense the presence of God. You feel as if He is silent and cannot be found.

Yet, in all this, Job’s very next sentence in v 10 is such an inspirational bible verse …

But He knows the way that I take;

When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

Even though Job didn’t feel God’s presence, He knew God was with him. He was also confident, that he would come out of this trial victorious. What made him sure of the victory? I think the verses that immediately follow, give us insight into Job’s confidence.

My foot has held fast to His steps;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth

More than my necessary food. Job 23:11-12

Job remained steadfast, remained obedient, and stayed in the Word. He treasured the Word more than his necessary food. I remember at a Third World concert in Jamaica years ago, when the crowd was rocking, a band member said to the crowd, “Boy unnu nicer than cook food!!” (Translation: Boy, you are nicer than cooked food). I am one of those Jamaicans who love my “cook food”. If I craved the Word more, ensuring that I never missed an opportunity for a spiritual meal, in any of my difficulties, which pale in comparison to Job, my actions or words would be more likely to bring honor to God, than dishonor to His name.

For those of us in the trial, may we hold fast to His steps, keep His way, treasure His word so we can say with confidence “ when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold”.