Facing your fears: We are told by those who are learned in such matters that the book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. That would really date old Job, wouldn't it? The story of Job's sufferings is legendary to say the least and we can learn much from it. One of the greatest problems that faces each one of us is fear and I guess that all kinds of phobias and a whole list of problems come under this thing we call fear. And we think we have problems....just take a look at Job.
He lost everything he had except his own life ......and that was pretty miserable. Some might ask "what did he lose"? Well the list goes on and on starting with his family; they were all killed...but let's look at his situation before he lost everything.
First of all he was perfect and upright and he had a reverential awesome fear of God which every man, woman, boy or girl should have and he hated evil...which everyone should do also.
He was a perfect example of a God fearing man .....a good man. He had seven handsome sons and three beautiful daughters He was the greatest as well as the wealthiest man of his day and he earned every thing he had by honest means. He was not a thief; not a con man , treated every body fairly, in fact he was a real philanthropist.....he gave to many and he was a father to many besides his own children....he cared about others. I can't think right off hand of anybody in this day to really compare him with. However he was a perfect example of what godliness means. Certainly for his day as he had a close relationship with his Maker. In fact God Himself called Job a perfect man. He was a man of dignity and earned respect.
Now why the things that happened to Job occurred; I can't explain at least not very well. He lost everything he had even to his health and keep in mind that when he lost all this...it was all at once. Can you imagine the grief that he must have borne when all this news came to him? First it says in Job 1:13-15, "And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And there came a messenger to Job , and said, The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them: And the Sabeans(bad guys) fell upon them, and took them away; yes, they have slain(killed)your servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell you". While he was telling Job all this another servant came rushing in huffing and puffing , probably fell on the ground in front of old Job and gasping for breath said "The fire of God(obviously a lightening bolt) is fallen from heaven, and has burned up the sheep(not good news) and the servants(now it's getting really bad) and consumed them, and I'm the only one left; I escaped and came to tell you what's happened". As if that isn't bad enough right on this guy's heels comes another servant and tells him that the Chaldeans stole the camels and killed more servants; another one arrives on his heels and informed him of his sons and daughters; they were eating and drinking in their oldest brothers house and the house fell in on them and they all died...except one servant.
And what does Job do about all this? He got up and tore his mantle, a kind of scarf type thing that they wore over their shoulder and wrapped around their face to keep all that sand dust out of their face, this was a kind of grief demonstration and oh! how he must have grieved. I cannot imagine the grief that man had. He lost his entire family in one fell swoop.When he was able to speak, he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there; The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD." The next thing that happened to Job was his health was taken from him. You see Satan had killed his family and robbed everything he owned and now he stole his health by afflicting him with boils all over his body and he ended up sitting on a pile of ashes, an ash heap, and scraping his boils with a piece of broken pottery. To top all this off, his wife left him and along comes three so-called friends who blame him for all that happened and he rightly called them miserable comforters.
And the worst part of all this ; FOR REASONS KNOWN ONLY TO GOD he allowed it to happen.But Job made a statement that one cannot ignore. verses 25 & 26 of chapter 3 says, "For the thing that I greatly feared has come upon me And what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes."
Talk about facing your fears! Poor Job....you can't help but feel sorry for him.....but in this statement of his where he says, "the thing I greatly feared has come upon me" sounds like he was living in some amount of fear that he was going to lose all this that he had accumulated in this life...and he did. But I can't help but wonder if he had faced that fear and talked to the Lord about it wouldn't that have changed everything? Paul writes to Timothy and tells him, "But God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2nd. Timothy1:7
Is fear troubling you? The only way to face your fears whether it is your health or your family, a job perhaps is to come in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God and with the knowledge that you have been given a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. I have come to a realization that God is in control of my situation and He does not want me to fear these things, like Job apparently did. The Psalmist said, "The LORD is on my side.....I will not fear" face the fear and stand on the promises.....He will not fail you...He never does.
There is another fear that Christians often face and it is called "fear of the face of clay"
The very next verse in this letter of Paul's saysTherefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord and like the psalmist face your fears. Look 'em squarely in the eye and say "the LORD is on my side; I will not fear and when the accuser(Satan) comes your way and throws your past in your face just look him squarely in the eye and say...He has forgiven me; my sins have been washed from His memory, by the beautiful blood of Calvary....He has forgiven me! sO MAYBE you messed up in times past,remember even yesterday is the past,but He has forgiven you if you confes your sins to Him. I have had to do that many times and He has forgiven me. That is why I can come boldly to the throne of grace and find mercy and grace to help in time of need.
He will do the same for you.
He lost everything he had except his own life ......and that was pretty miserable. Some might ask "what did he lose"? Well the list goes on and on starting with his family; they were all killed...but let's look at his situation before he lost everything.
First of all he was perfect and upright and he had a reverential awesome fear of God which every man, woman, boy or girl should have and he hated evil...which everyone should do also.
He was a perfect example of a God fearing man .....a good man. He had seven handsome sons and three beautiful daughters He was the greatest as well as the wealthiest man of his day and he earned every thing he had by honest means. He was not a thief; not a con man , treated every body fairly, in fact he was a real philanthropist.....he gave to many and he was a father to many besides his own children....he cared about others. I can't think right off hand of anybody in this day to really compare him with. However he was a perfect example of what godliness means. Certainly for his day as he had a close relationship with his Maker. In fact God Himself called Job a perfect man. He was a man of dignity and earned respect.
Now why the things that happened to Job occurred; I can't explain at least not very well. He lost everything he had even to his health and keep in mind that when he lost all this...it was all at once. Can you imagine the grief that he must have borne when all this news came to him? First it says in Job 1:13-15, "And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And there came a messenger to Job , and said, The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them: And the Sabeans(bad guys) fell upon them, and took them away; yes, they have slain(killed)your servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell you". While he was telling Job all this another servant came rushing in huffing and puffing , probably fell on the ground in front of old Job and gasping for breath said "The fire of God(obviously a lightening bolt) is fallen from heaven, and has burned up the sheep(not good news) and the servants(now it's getting really bad) and consumed them, and I'm the only one left; I escaped and came to tell you what's happened". As if that isn't bad enough right on this guy's heels comes another servant and tells him that the Chaldeans stole the camels and killed more servants; another one arrives on his heels and informed him of his sons and daughters; they were eating and drinking in their oldest brothers house and the house fell in on them and they all died...except one servant.
And what does Job do about all this? He got up and tore his mantle, a kind of scarf type thing that they wore over their shoulder and wrapped around their face to keep all that sand dust out of their face, this was a kind of grief demonstration and oh! how he must have grieved. I cannot imagine the grief that man had. He lost his entire family in one fell swoop.When he was able to speak, he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there; The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD." The next thing that happened to Job was his health was taken from him. You see Satan had killed his family and robbed everything he owned and now he stole his health by afflicting him with boils all over his body and he ended up sitting on a pile of ashes, an ash heap, and scraping his boils with a piece of broken pottery. To top all this off, his wife left him and along comes three so-called friends who blame him for all that happened and he rightly called them miserable comforters.
And the worst part of all this ; FOR REASONS KNOWN ONLY TO GOD he allowed it to happen.But Job made a statement that one cannot ignore. verses 25 & 26 of chapter 3 says, "For the thing that I greatly feared has come upon me And what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes."
Talk about facing your fears! Poor Job....you can't help but feel sorry for him.....but in this statement of his where he says, "the thing I greatly feared has come upon me" sounds like he was living in some amount of fear that he was going to lose all this that he had accumulated in this life...and he did. But I can't help but wonder if he had faced that fear and talked to the Lord about it wouldn't that have changed everything? Paul writes to Timothy and tells him, "But God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2nd. Timothy1:7
Is fear troubling you? The only way to face your fears whether it is your health or your family, a job perhaps is to come in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God and with the knowledge that you have been given a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. I have come to a realization that God is in control of my situation and He does not want me to fear these things, like Job apparently did. The Psalmist said, "The LORD is on my side.....I will not fear" face the fear and stand on the promises.....He will not fail you...He never does.
There is another fear that Christians often face and it is called "fear of the face of clay"
The very next verse in this letter of Paul's saysTherefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord and like the psalmist face your fears. Look 'em squarely in the eye and say "the LORD is on my side; I will not fear and when the accuser(Satan) comes your way and throws your past in your face just look him squarely in the eye and say...He has forgiven me; my sins have been washed from His memory, by the beautiful blood of Calvary....He has forgiven me! sO MAYBE you messed up in times past,remember even yesterday is the past,but He has forgiven you if you confes your sins to Him. I have had to do that many times and He has forgiven me. That is why I can come boldly to the throne of grace and find mercy and grace to help in time of need.
He will do the same for you.
posted by Randall | 6:03 a.m.
3 Comments:
With every writing, I thank God that this blog was launched. Otherwise I, as well as the many others who read it, would miss out on the richness of your writing.
Thank you so much for sharing this topic - we all struggle with fears, of some kind or another. It helps so much to be reminded that we can trust God - He knows the past, present, and future. He so understands our situations and is our strong arm of support.
Thanks for sharing your heart again and for outlining this portion of scripture - great teaching.
Thank you so very much for this teaching. It something we all need to remember everyday. It seems like we are more in need of this truth today than every before. You explained it so well and we appreciate it. May God continue to guide you and give you the wisdom you need to do his work in this way. Our prayers are with you. Love in Christ B & G
Everybody has a past of some kind. I know my sins are forgiven, but I wont forget. I praise God that I have a past because if I didnt, I wouldnt be here right now talking about the Grace of God. No matter what you have done, He still loves and forgives. Thank you Lord for your precious blood! Very good word, Randall!!
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