Hope in God no Matter What

I’m fascinated by the story of Job.

In one day he loses everything he owns including his family except for a wife that he could have done without. As if that isn’t enough pain, he then gets so sick and scarred that his friends don’t even recognize him.

In the midst of this disaster he makes a statement about God that makes your hair stand every time you read it. In Job 13:14 he says: “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.”

How do you become the kind of Christian who hopes in God no matter what?

I see a pattern to the life and thinking of this man Job that I want to get down for the day that I need it. Problems show up in my life unannounced, and they don’t ask for permission to come in. They just do, like a long lost relative without inhibitions. I don’t like problems but that’s not enough to make them disappear. I want to learn to handle them in the same way Job did.

Here are some basic steps to hope in God no matter what is going on in your life from the example of Job.

1. Build a history with God. Job knew God. He’d had a lifetime with him. Though he didn’t understand what was happening, he put his trust in his relationship with God and his past experience of God’s goodness. God had been really good to him in the past, and he wasn’t about to forget it. This led him to make one of his most famous statements in Job 2:10 “shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil?”

2. Rest in Knowing God’s character. Job 10:12 says “you have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.” God’s care? Job had just lost everything, how could he think this way? Job understood the secret to joy in life no matter your circumstances. God is good. That’s who He is. No matter what. Job got it. Do you get it?

3. Believe in God’s ability. Job was really good at remembering who God is but also what He could do. In the first few verses of Job 9 he talks about the awesome-ness of God and caps it with Job 9:10 where he says: “who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number.” God can do anything. He specializes in things thought impossible. He does the things others cannot do!

4. Refuse to settle for a limited perspective. In Job 9:11 it says “Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him.” Just because you don’t see God doesn’t mean He is not working. Don’t limit your vision to what you can see. God is at work all the time.

5. Quiet the naysayers. In Job 13:4-5 Job says this to his friends: “worthless physicians are you all. Oh that you would keep silent…”. Everyone of us has that friend that always sees the negative in a situation. They are quick to point out your problems and slow to hand out compliments. There comes a time and a place to tell those folks to hush up.

You can be the kind of Christian who hopes in God no matter what. Are you going through a difficult season? Do you think you can apply these principles to your life today and find joy in the presence of the Savior?

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