 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. – Job 23:10
Our Example
Whenever things get bad, who is it that we think of? We think of old Job, the man who endured the worst the Devil had to offer, yet without losing his faith in God.
Job lost everything he owned, plus his children, and even ended up sitting in a pile of ash while he scraped boils with broken pieces of pottery. Even his wife, probably out of a combination of desperate pity and blame, said, “Curse God, and die” (Job 2:9).
But what made it worse was Job’s friends! Yes, his own friends, trying to help, assumed everything he was enduring was a judgment from God, because surely Job must have done something terribly wrong, right? Why else would God be doing all this to him?
Nevertheless, Job was faithful; he never cursed God. As a matter of fact, Job said, “Though he (God) slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). What an example to follow!
The First One
But what most people tend to miss is this: Job didn’t have a Job-like example to follow. No, Job was the first of his kind.
When Job said “when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold,” he wasn’t talking from experience, or from the learned lessons of others. If you’ll look back to the first chapter, Satan had never done all this “sifting” before. So, Job had no precedent on which to base his assumption that the circumstances he endured would produce a 24-Karat ending.
All Job really had going was his faith in a good and faithful God. Actually, he had no idea that what he was enduring was a trial by fire. A careful study of the context of Job 23:10 will show that all Job wanted was an audience with God – the God who couldn’t be found – so that he could plead his innocence. “If I could ever get the chance,” thought Job, “I’d argue my case, He would try me, and I’d be proven innocent – I’d come forth as gold.”
God Is Working
But God was working on Job, only Job didn’t know it! Even though he couldn’t find God (Job 23:3-4), Job was in the cradle of God’s hand. The trial was removing all traces of dross, refining Job, and he was well on the way to becoming “pure gold.”
So, consider Job, the one who never gave up or blamed God, even when his world was collapsing. Â It may not seem like it, but the furnace you’re enduring right now could be nothing more than the Refiner’s fire.
Like Job, God “knows your way” – He knows all about you. So remain faithful, remain hopeful, and rest assured that one day you will come forth as gold.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” – James 1:2-4 NLT
Selah. It’s a word that instructs us to pause and consider what was just read or sung (the Psalms were actually songs). But what good is there in pausing to think about people who want to discourage us?
Word of advice… Never drink from an elementary school water fountain.
Blog Roll or Blog Slice?
I have a question for all of you about blog rolls.
For several years I have had the same list of blogs on my “blog roll.” Yesterday I took them all down – all of them.
Why? Because I wanted to start over with a fresh list, one that more accurately and fairly listed blogs which I either visit or endorse.
However, how do I do that? What is fair? And for that matter, how many to I post a link to?
To be honest, I don’t read as many blogs as I’d like, simply because I don’t have that much time. Every once in a while I will go on a binge and do a lot of clicking, reading, scanning, and “liking.” I may even leave a few profound comments. There’s just so many blogs out there, and I can’t read them all.
So, how should I do this? Should I list every single blog I ever visit more than once? Should I list a long blog roll of 50+ websites, many of which I may rarely visit more than once a month, or less?
Or, should I just give you a “slice” of what’s out there? Like, what if I listed the blogs of people I really like, along with some popular ones everybody else likes?
Or, what if a “slice” of blogs consisted of those whose owners commented here? I could, let’s say, keep a “top 10” slice; the ones who commented the most (“likes” count half) would be at the top of the list, all others further down.
Interesting.
You see, I just don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, you know? I mean, if you own a blog and only post once a year, should I put you in the “roll,” much less the “slice”?
What do you think? Leave a comment, please (It may help your score đ ).
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