July 27, 2020 Living Water CAC Daily Devotional Guide :- When You Feel Abandoned (II)
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WHEN YOU FEEL ABANDONED (II)
Read: Job 2:1-13
Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
Job 2:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Job 2:3 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? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
Job 2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job 2:7 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.
Job 2:8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Job 2:11 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.
Job 2:12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
Job 2:13 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.
MEMORISE: So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with loathsome and painful sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. (Job. 2:7)
EXPOSITION
Job was a real person with real challenges; he served a real God and was tried by a real devil! It was like a betting contest took place at the heavenly council over Job’s ulterior motives for serving God. For Satan to be proved wrong, he was given permission to strike Job with calamities upon calamities. These included the destruction of his family and business empire! As if those were not enough, Satan believed that Job remained unwavering because he was smart enough: “Skin for skin!” Probably, a proverbial statement equivalent to “quid pro,” meaning “this for that.” nature of his sickness is uncertain, but it’s symptoms were painful festering sores over the whole body (7:5), nightmares (7:14), scabs that peeled and became black (30:28,30), disfigurement and revolting appearance (2:12; 19:19), bad breath (19:17), excessive thinness (17:7;19:20), fever (30:30), and pain day and night (30:17). His wife had abandoned him, even his friends who came to … mourn with him, and to comfort him_* (Job 2:11) added to his miseries as they wrongly accused him of suffering for his own sins! Hence, he cried out, Miserable comforters are you all! (Job 16:2). So terrible was the situation, that Job felt that God had abandoned him!
It is common for the people to assign blessings to God’s favour and sufferings to His displeasure (cf. Jn. 9:1ff). However, from Job’s experience, we learn that suffering is not always an evidence of God’s abandonment. At times, believers may actually suffer more than unbelievers because those who follow God, you may have to endure hardship, persecution, or testing as Job did. Consistent faith is the way to defeat Satan. Nothing should separate us from the love of Christ. We may be down but cannot be destroyed, as long as God is for, and with us (Rom. 8:35-39; 2 Cor. 4:7-12).
PRAYER POINTS
1. Pray for strength not to falter in trying times.
2. Ask for faith that unwaveringly moves with God in spite of negative situations all around.
3. Pray for everyone you know that is going through tough times at the moment. Pray that they will stay strong and find their strength in the Lord.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Job 14-16; 1 Peter 1