The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in James 5:11,
"You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."
The story of Job is a fascinating one. God used Job to demonstrate to Satan that there are those who embrace God and remain devoted to him for who he is and not for what God does for them. It kind of makes you wonder how God feels about so many in the church today... Anyway, God allowed Satan to take away all that God had blessed him with to demonstrate to Satan that it was so. The dialog in the account is heart-rending as Job's "friends" attempt to prove to Job that he must have sinned, he must have turned from God if he was experiencing difficulty in life. After all, if we live our lives pleasing to God he always blesses us with happy and fulfilling lives, good health and prosperity. Right?
Paul quotes a psalm that would baffle many in the church today if they read it. In speaking of the difficulties we may experience in this life, things such as "trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword" Paul makes the point that none of the difficulties we may experience can separate us from the wonderful love of Jesus Christ, Romans 8:35-36. Then he quotes this very interesting psalm where the Israelites ask God why they were suffering during a time when they were completely devoted to God and living for him. Psalm 44:20-22 says, "If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart? Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
The reality presented in this psalm, quoted by Paul and experienced by Job is what James presents to us to encourage us in perseverance in suffering. We may suffer, but nothing will separate us from the love of Jesus Christ and he will make things right in the end. James says to us of Job, "You... have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." Job was fully restored in this life. Quite likely, most of us within the church will not see wrongs righted until we arrive in the resurrection. I would point to Foxes Book of Martyrs for your consideration here. However, once we arrive in the resurrection, righted those wrongs will be!
As Paul tells us in Romans 8:18, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Here is the motivation in perseverance: no trouble can separate us from the love of our Lord, and he will make all things right in the end! He is, after all, a wonderful God!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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