Be A Witness For God With Your Response To Trouble

Job 2:4-5, 10---And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

After Job lost everything but his wife and yet retained his integrity, God asked Satan if he was now convinced of Job's love for God. Satan told God that any man would curse God if his health were taken from him. God gave permission to take his health but not his life. Job was afflicted with boils head to foot. He used a piece of broken pot to scrape the boils. Then his wife told him it was not worth it to try to remain right with God, "just curse Him and die". Sometimes we get poor advice from a spouse because they don't want to see us suffer. Eternity is of much greater value than temporal relief from pain. Job answered her with an expression that we would do well to consider, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Is God only allowed to be Santa Claus? Can He never bring difficulty? Will we be so brazen as to say that we know better than God what is needed in our life? We thank Him for the things we perceive to be good, but should we not thank Him for trouble, knowing He has allowed it for a purpose? Job did not sin with his mouth. His heart may have been beginning to question, but his testimony remained solid. Here too, we can take a tip from Job. Be most careful of what you express to others during difficult times. We can teach them to have faith in God or to doubt God. Our response is a witness that can encourage faith or doubt. It is at these times that we are most tempted to let the wrong expressions slip from our lips as we seek sympathy from those around us. We want them to feel our pain.