God Is in Control

So glad you can join me for today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading, titled God is in Control, was written by Leslie Coe. Carol couldn't understand why it was happening all at once. As if work wasn't bad enough, her daughter fractured her foot in school, and she herself came down with a severe infection.

What did I do to deserve this? Carol wondered. All she could do was ask God for strength. Job didn't know why calamity had hit him so hard either.

Pain and loss far greater than what Carol experienced. There's no indication he was aware of the cosmic battle for his soul. Satan wanted to test Job's faith, claiming he'd turn from God if he lost everything. When disaster struck, Job's friends insisted he was being punished for his sins.

That wasn't why, but he must have wondered, why me? What he didn't know was that God had allowed it to happen. Job's story offers a powerful lesson about suffering and about faith. We may try to discover the reason behind our pain, but perhaps there's a bigger story behind the scenes that we won't understand in our lifetime.

Like Job, we can hold on to what we do know. God is in full control. It's not an easy thing to say, but in the midst of his pain, Job kept looking to God and trusting in his sovereignty. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised, he declared. May we too keep trusting in God, no matter what happens, and even when we don't understand.

The scripture reading for today's Our Daily Bread devotional is from Job chapter 1, verses 6 through 12, and verses 20 through 22. One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, Where have you come from? Satan answered the Lord, From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it. Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job?

There is no one on earth like him. He is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. Does Job fear God for nothing?

Satan replied. Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.

But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face. The Lord said to Satan, Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger. Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. And now picking up at verse 20.

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Would you pray with me? Dear Heavenly Father, we struggle to understand why difficult things happen to us, and it can be easy to think that you really don't love us. In these times, we ask that you would make your presence known and be our comforter, strengthen our faith, and assure us of your love. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. I'm Stephen Tabor, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.