Strange Encounters Of The 2nd Kind

Scriptures: Job 1, 2

What is the book of Job all about?

o Is it about what God does to us?

o Is it about what the Devil does to us?

o Does it tell us how to overcome every trial that we face?

I think that the essence of the book is found in the question posed by the Devil in chapter 1, verse 9, “Does Job fear God for nothing?". In other words, is it really possible that a human being could fall so much in love with God that he/she would serve Him for no other reason than that love? Even more so – is your own relationship with God based on anything other than your love for Him?

The answer to his question in your own personal life will determine how you weather the storms of life that blow your way. It will mean the difference between spiritual excellence and mediocrity.

The objective of the Devil in the book of Job was to create sufficient distress to cause this righteous to turn his back on God and curse him. He would like to do that in your own life today. He delights when he brings a person to the place where they give up and throw in the towel. He loves it when he can get us to begin weigh or judge God’s performance by the standard of our comfort, our happiness, our prosperity, our physical well being, our emotional well being. At that point we are vulnerable. We are prone to come to the wrong conclusions simply because we are asking poor questions.

What is the source of life’s heartaches?

· Life just provides the raw material for heartaches.

· God does discipline us. He will withhold from us the things that we think we want. He is committed to taking everything and making it work to His purposes. He requires a surrendered will in order to work unhindered.

· The Devil would love to destroy us and he will give us anything that leads to that end. The Devil will use anything that he possibly can to destroy us.

I believe that one of the great purposes for trying times, trials in our lives is to help us to discover what is really at the center of our own lives. Does Karl serve God for nothing? What would it take to get me to quit? It is most merciful if we discover what is really there in this life. That we not step from mortality to eternity thinking that we have a proper center when we do not.

The outcome of the trials that Job faced held no surprises for God. It is a merciful thing to discover the truth of our hearts in this life. Disability insurance - pay us now and fight with us when you need it. The trials of life hold or communicate vital information for us relative to the state of our souls. (ill. gift from an estate) - subtle shift from trust in God to trust in the things that he has given us.

What are the lessons that we learn from this encounter that are current, relevant and transferable to our lives today?

o It concerns God that our hearts toward Him are true.

o Trials are self-revelatory.

o An understanding of life as we see it and life as we don’t see it.