Have You Considered My Servant, Job?

Job 42:7-8, 10-12a

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.

8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

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.

11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.

12 So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning:


Have You Considered my Servant, Job?

Can we talk about Job for a minute? His losses were significant but remember (or better yet, re-read) that it started with a proposal…a dare really. God asked Satan, “Have you considered my servant, Job?” God used Job and his family to show not Satan, but us something really important.

“God knows my heart” is often a convenient Christian excuse when we come up short. Our “get out of jail free” card. And it’s true…He DOES know our hearts…even those parts that that we don't know well ourselves.

God knew Job’s heart. Before He even considered entertaining Satan’s boasts, God knew what Job would do. And in the end, it was Job’s integrity under immense pressure that sustained him and put him in a position to intercede for the very men who were taunting him. Job was served by men for being a faithful, albeit proud, servant of God. God knew his heart. Also notice, that at the end, Satan isn’t even mentioned.

Like most of the Old Testament, the Book of Job is a wonderful example of Jesus with a slight adjustment. Job’s suffering was put on him because of his integrity. Jesus chose to suffer because of His.

Our precious Savior left Heaven, leaves the presence of God and the attendance of angels to suffer on our behalf. No matter what was thrown at Him (or pulled from Him for that matter) He endured. And, when it was finished, He took His seat at the right hand of the Father to intercede on our behalf. We have relationship with God Himself because of the sacrafice and intercession of Jesus Christ. God knew His heart.

The cycle continues. There are sufferings that come into our lives that may in fact be wanton attacks or trials or tests…the source isn’t as important as the outcome.

God knows your heart. He knows what you have in you and what He's made available around you to get through those tough times in your life.

God knows your heart and He knows what needs to be purged out in order to make you fit for kingdom use.

God knows your heart and He knows that when faced with trials you’ll be left with nothing but your integrity. He knows how that experience will strengthen YOU and your trust in Him.

God knows your heart and He knows how to put you in place with more than you had before your struggle and in a position to provide a conduit, a path, a prayer of intercession on behalf of those who would accuse and oppose you. He knows how to make your experience a light of hope to someone lost in their own personal darkness.

God knows your heart.

The mother in me hopes that you never have to go through the suffering and pain that’s talked about in Job. But, I’ve lived long enough to know that trials come. The saint in me prays sincerely that when you find yourself in the press of life, be encouraged, dear one, in knowing that you are kept.

Even in the midst of the pressure and the burning, if you have confessed Christ as Savior, you are kept by God. Hold on to your integrity and your hope and your faith. You will be restored. You are still as precious to God as any newborn is to a family.

God knows your heart. The question is do you know His heart and do you know that you’re in it? Do you know you've been considered?

Peace.

- Sis. Stephanie Robinson


Lifeline is the evangelistic ministry of Fellowship Church in Jonesboro , GA.

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Fellowship Church
455 HWY 138 Suite C
Jonesboro, GA 30236
Alton Watkins, Pastor