Day 24

Job 19:-21:34

The trials of life. We have all been there wondering why is this happening to me? Why does it seem that nothing will go right? I have an 11 year old son that it seems nothing goes right for him, he eats ice cream on the couch, it spills everywhere, he reaches for something on the table and knocks stuff over. It’s not intentional but it happens over and over again. I get that this is extremely small compared to losing your entire family, your entire wealth, your entire livelihood.

Job has lost everything and he starts posing the question. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do bad people continue to prosper? Those are valid questions and have been asked for thousands of years. 

Its better to know God and be poor than it is to be wealthy and not know God. In Matthew 5 Jesus gives us the Beatitudes

“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied”.  “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons  of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”   Matthew 5:1-12

 Mathew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 

Job was a counterculture man. He was different from all the others on Earth. He was living for God in a time when that was not the norm. 

From Why do bad things happen to good people? To living counterculture. Living a life of faith is a constant battle of doing what is right and wrong, living in sin or living righteously. Living for the Lord is counterculture, that means that we will be persecuted, bad things will happen to us. What we need to remember is that it is not from God. We are in constant spiritual warfare!