Patience and Hope, Trust and Faith

Good Morning!! When we feel deeply afflicted, it is hard for us to believe that God is tenderly involved in our lives. We feel as though perhaps God has forsaken us, or worse still,...is punishing us for some willful sin, or mistake we've made. Job too, as he was enduring the pain and sorrow of his lengthy ordeal, felt as if he had been utterly forsaken by God. Yet by faith, he trusted in God, saying, "He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold". (Job 23:10) He relied on God's good purposes, in the midst of personal pain, loss, and anguish.

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.—James 5:11 (KJV)

That's often very hard to do, because it means living entirely by faith,...regardless of our present circumstances. It means trusting God and patiently waiting for Him, to fulfill His perfect and merciful purposes,...for us. It means fighting to hold onto a heavenly and eternal perspective,...rather than seeking pleasure and fulfillment here and now. But the example of Job should remind us that even when grief or turmoil hide the face of God from us,....He is still working tenderly and mercifully toward our sanctification and glory.

Those who steadfastly endure the trials God sends their way are, in the end, the most blessed people on earth.

O' Lord, allow our lives to bring glory to God, our testimony to point to eternity, and our faithfulness remind us and others, of God's goodness. Amen.

"Any time you make a commitment to something,...just know, that it will be tested."