Love always perseveres and love
never fails. Never look at the adversity or trauma of your story. We might not
understand everything that goes on with us, but God is greater. God's grace
takes us out of darkness, not put us in the darkness. When we love God we
walk in righteousness no matter what the circumstance is, we continue to love
God and walk in righteousness.
Have or don’t have I will always be
content. God will never abandon me and he will never forsake me. Hebrews 13:5
says, keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you
have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.
My faith is in his word. Even in my
struggle, if I struggle with mental illness, does it mean God does not love me?
Course not. God is faithful. Never question God's faithfulness; we need to
question our faithfulness to God. Love never fails and love always
perseveres no matter what the circumstance is. We don’t give up living on
God's will based on money, any adversity, and struggles, even when everything
turns against us.
It is written in Romans 8:35-39 can
anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves
us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute,
or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your
sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite
all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can
separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers
of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or the
earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us
from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This is God's love for us in the
same way our love for God should be the same as he loves us. Look at Job's
story and compare it to what you are going through. Learn how Job perseveres
and how his love never fails for God.
In this Bible story from the book of Job, there is a wealthy man named Job residing in an area called Uz with his extended family and vast flocks. He is “blameless” and “upright,” constantly mindful to live in a righteous manner (Job 1:1).
God mentions Job to Satan saying, "There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” However, Satan contends that Job is only righteous because God has favored him generously. Satan dares God that, if given the approval to inflict suffering, Job will change and curse God. God permits Satan to abuse Job to experiment with this brazen claim, but he forbids Satan to take Job’s life in the manner.
The Tribulations of Job
Over the time of one day, Job is given four reports, each
informing him that his sheep, servants, and ten children have all died due to
thieving intruders or natural disasters. Job rips his clothes and shaves his
head in sorrow, yet he still praises God in his prayers. Satan arrives in
heaven again, and God allows him another opportunity to test Job. This time,
Job is distressed with terrible skin sores. His wife urges him to denounce God
and to give up and die, but Job protests, trying to endure his inflictions.
Three of Job’s companions, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar,
arrive to comfort him, sitting with Job in silence for seven days out of
reverence for his grieving. On the seventh day, Job talks, starting a
discussion in which each of the four men shares his reflections on Job’s
troubles in poetic descriptions.
Job damns the day he was born, relating life and death to light and darkness. He hopes that his birth had been obscured in darkness and desires to have never been born, believing that life only increases his suffering. Eliphaz replies that Job, who has comforted other people, now reveals that he never actually knew their pain.
Eliphaz concludes that Job’s
pain must be due to some sin Job has acted, and he recommends Job to seek God’s
favor. Bildad and Zophar agree that Job must have performed evil to provoke
God’s justice and argue that he should attempt to manifest more innocent
behavior. Bildad supposes that Job’s children brought their deaths upon
themselves. Even worse, Zophar suggests that whatever wrongdoing Job has done
he likely deserves more suffering than what he has experienced.
Job Contemplates the Mystery of God
Job reacts to each of these remarks, becoming so angry that he calls his sympathizers “worthless physicians” who “whitewash [their help] with lies” (Job 13:4). He questions why God judges people by their deeds if God can just as easily change or forgive their behavior. It is confusing to Job how a human can truly satisfy God’s justice as his ways are mysterious and exceed human comprehension. Furthermore, humans cannot possibly convince God with their words.
God cannot be fooled, and Job confesses that he does not even
know himself well enough to adequately defend his case to God. Job desires for
someone who can mediate between himself and God, or be sent to Sheol, the dark
space of the dead.
Job believes that there is a “witness” or a “Redeemer” in heaven who will testify for his integrity (Job 16:19, Job 19:25). The suffering shows too much for Job, and he turns bitter, anxious, and scared. He deplores the injustice that God lets evil people thrive while he and many other honest people suffer.
Job wants to face God and protest, but cannot physically find
God. He assumes that wisdom is concealed from humans, but he decides to
persevere in seeking wisdom by fearing God and evading evil.
God Consoles Job
God eventually intervenes, commanding Job to be brave, and
explains various detailed features of his creation. Overcome by the appearance
of God, Job recognizes God’s infinite power and accepts the constraints of his
human understanding. This response pleases God, but he is upset with Eliphaz,
Bildad, and Zophar for emitting lousy advice. Job reconciles on their behalf,
and God forgives them. God then restores Job’s health, granting him twice as
much property as before, new children, and a remarkably long life. In the end,
Job never completely gave up hope or faith in God as an inspiration to everyone
enduring suffering of their own.
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