THE THANKSGIVING OF JOB

Job 42:1–3;

1. Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
2. I know that thou canst do everything and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
3. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

Job 1:21;

And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Isaiah 45:7;

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.

Taking a look at all the troubles that ensued in Job’s life; Job; an extremely successful man, wealthy beyond average; spiritual man, God rated his type as outstanding; large family and friends; an array of workers and possessions; a role model to others, people sought him out for advice and answers.

But all of these disappeared in the bat of an eyelid. Everything he had crumbled right before his eyes. Things went sour and stale with each passing minute. His family, his health, his wealth, everything vanished quickly.

This type of loss is absolute, and that is totally uncommon amongst people these days. It is hard to find a man who had lost everything he ever had in a jiffy. We have had some unforeseen events that have taken things away from people.

Some natural disasters, some as a result of human error, some happen due to cheer wickedness of other humans; victims of these usually come out with little left or absolutely nothing.

The point is, that Job’s kind of predicament can happen to any of us. The big focus is on how we react to it.

Job was a man who was full of hope. He responded to these calamities in hope. He always cried out for a savior while refusing to utter abusive words to God, despite pressure from his wife and friends.

He remained hopeful of the One who would come, One who would bridge the gap between God and man. His spirituality remained intact despite that he had lost everything. He retained trust in God in the most challenging period of his life.

Throughout the book of Job, there was nowhere note-worthy about Job giving thanks or offering praises.

In Job 42, the last phase of his life, where his story ended, it was noted that God eventually restored him, albeit double-fold. Everything he ever lost was multiplied back to him.

Job 42:12, the Lord blessed him with 14,000 sheep – an increase of 7, 000; 6, 000 camels – an increase of 3, 000; a thousand donkeys up from 500 donkeys that were taken away from him.

There was no doubt that Job, a man of God, perfect, none like him on the face of the earth, would give thanks to God for restoring him.

But that was not the highlight of his story. The focus was not on if he gave thanks or not. It was more of how he responded to his life that went downhill in his presence.

The lessons we are going to pick from Job would be about his reaction in his low times. As children of God, what should be our mode of thanksgiving even in times when there seems to be nothing to thank Him for?

Job’s resounding faith and unshaken trust amid trials and troubles were expressed in praise and thanksgiving.

‘’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.’’ – Job 1:21

This statement came moments after Job had just been informed of his misfortunes: His servants, his possessions, all his seven sons and three daughters, and his health was rotting up. He was sitting in agonizing pain, in a moment when other humans would have lost their minds and abused God, amid total damage and tragedy. In the heat of all of these, Job praised God.

How do we react when we lose it all?

What is our reaction when troubles roll by?

Do we nag and complain all the way?

Do we start panicking and forget God?

Or do we abide by the scripture that says to give thanks in everything?

We need to understand that in little measures, or huge measures, we will always be tested at points in our lives. Reactions and responses in these times tell a lot about how well we acknowledge God in all situations.

The story of Job is a complete representation of what to do when things turn sour.

It also serves as a reminder that we have been called into a life of thanksgiving in faith and hope.

For both the thick and thin, for both plenty and famine; for both abundance and dryness; for both joy and sorrow; for both rivers and desert; for both good and evil; for both flowers and thorns; for both health and weakness; for both fruitfulness and barrenness; in all of these, our resolve is tested.

Our maturity and growth in faith are put to the litmus test. It is for both men and women, young and old, through all the paths of life.

God wants us to praise Him, not only for the blessings but also for the trials that he allows us to draw closer to Him and shape us into the people He has called us to be.

May we be encouraged to always say a word of thanksgiving regardless of what season we are in.

This will help us strengthen our trust in Him the more.

‘’Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.’’ – Job 13:15.

Additional Bible Reading

Job 42: 4-17;

4Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

5I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

6Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

7And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.

8Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

9So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job.

10And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

11Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.

12So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

13He had also seven sons and three daughters.

14And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch.

15And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.

16After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.

17So Job died, being old and full of days.

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