Where is your God now?

Why do bad things happen to good people? Am I suffering because I'm a sinner? Why did God let this happen to me? If God loves me then why do I have to go through this? The book of Job is my favorite. Mostly because it deals with a lot of the questions many of us wonder about in life.

Here is what we forget in this book. Job BLESSES God with his prayers regardless of what he is going through. So perhaps we are too busy asking and not worshiping or praising God for what he is about to do, or what he has already done. We need to bless Him just as much as we need to be blessed. I think we forget this fact because we are focused on our needs, our desires, and our expectations. A relationship with God is a two way street much like any friendship. He gives and we take, but we too should give. He needs our love just as much as we need His.

It's also mentioned that Jobs friends were “worthless physicians” who “whitewash their advice with lies” (13:4). I believe this is what we call "sugar coating" the situation or telling someone what they want to hear. While his friends might have meant well to help Job, all they did was cause doubt in his mind on what God was doing with his life. They caused Job to question God and it was a distraction to his blessing during mourning.

Perhaps the biggest point forgotten from this story is the fact that God restored Job's life. He gave him his life back-extending it so he lived longer, new children, and new property-even more than what he had before! Not only did Job get restored but God gave him more than what he had before. Now that's love!

The reason this is my favorite book of the Bible is because of the aforementioned items but also because of the promise provided. No matter what trials in life we have where we feel stripped of all things good, God will restore more than we had, more than we ever thought possible. Our trials are not meant to hurt us but to restore us-strengthen us. When we focus on nurturing that relationship with God, we find that He has never left us in our trials but was there all along. I believe God holds us tighter during our trials not just to comfort us-so we don't leave Him in a time where our desires are so close we just need to wait for His time. Imagine what Job would have missed had he shunned God during this difficult time. We just need to keep blessing Him, knowing that we rest is His loving arms assured that His plans are more than we can ever imagine.