Job (2)

Did God take away Job’s animals? Did God take away all his children? Why would God do this to Job if He loved him?

God did not make the terrible things happen to Job. Satan did. Do you remember who Satan is? He is the devil. He hates God. Let me tell you why Satan did this to Job.

One day Satan had said to God, “Job is such a good man, but he loves Thee only because Thou art always good to him. He has a lot of sheep and camels, many children, and everything is going well for him! But if all that were taken away, he would curse Thee. Then he would say bad things about Thee.”

Then God told Satan to do whatever he wanted to Job to see if Job would really curse Him if everything was taken away. But God told Satan that he was not to hurt Job himself.

And that is why Satan made the terrible things happen to Job. He took away all the camels, sheep, donkeys, and oxen. He even took away all Job’s children. But did Job curse God? No! In fact, he blessed Him! Job would still love God no matter what happened!

Satan was not happy about this. He talked to God again. He said, “Job is still happy, but why shouldn’t he be? He is still healthy! If he was very sick or in pain, he wouldn’t stay happy. Then he would complain. Then he would curse Thee.”

So God told Satan that he could do what he wanted to Job, but he could not kill him.

What did Satan do now? He made Job get a sickness called boils. Job’s boils felt a lot like having large sores all over your body that itch and itch and itch, but also hurt terribly. Wouldn’t that be awful to have?

Poor Job! Now he had so little to be happy about. His wife tried to make him complain, but he told her, “If we are happy for the good things God gives us, shouldn’t we be happy for the evil things too?” And the Bible tells us that “in all this did not Job sin with his lips.”

Then three of Job’s friends came to visit him. But were they nice friends? No, not at all! They tried to tell him that he must have done something very bad for God to punish him like this. But no one could get Job to curse God. Job would only curse the day he was born, which, of course, was still sinful of Job. He said he wished he had not been born into this world of troubles. But, even though such awful things had happened to him, Job would not curse God!

Then God spoke to Job. God also told Job’s friends to take him gifts, and soon he was as rich as before! No—the Bible tells us that Job was richer than before! God blessed him so much that he had more than he had before all the terrible things happened to him! God even gave Job ten more children!

What would we do if all those awful things had happened to us? Would we praise God and say, “The Lord gave it to me, and the Lord takes it away, blessed be the name of the Lord”?

—SW

Pressed

Pressed out of measure and
pressed to all length.
Pressed so intensely
it seems beyond strength;
Pressed in the body and
pressed in the soul,
Pressed in the mind
till the dark surges roll;
Pressed by foes, and
pressured by friends;
Pressure on pressure,
till life nearly ends;
Pressed into loving
the staff and the rod,
Pressed into knowing
no helper but God;
Pressed into liberty
where nothing clings,
Pressed into faith
for impossible things;
Pressed into living
a life in the Lord,
Pressed into living
a Christ-life outpoured.

—W. Knight

Christ Alone

Precious Jesus, think on me;
I have nowhere else to flee.
With my burden of transgression
Unto Thee I make confession.

Look upon me in Thy love;
Send Thy Spirit from above.
As I on Thy merits plead,
Help me in my time of need.

Doubts and fears in me abound
When I hear the gospel sound;
Oh, that Christ would say to me,
“Sinner, I have died for thee.”

Though by faith I see Thy worth,
Yet my soul cleaves to the earth;
I am prone to sin and stray
From the straight and narrow way.

“Fearful sinner, do not tremble:
With transgressors I assemble.
I hear every sinner’s cry
When I see them mourn and sigh.

“Do not fear and do not doubt;
I will never cast you out
My salvation’s full and free
If you put your trust in Me.”

Though I know Thy Word is true,
Unbelief is working too.
Save me from myself and sin;
Let Thy Spirit dwell within.

Grant me faith that trusts in Thee,
Which alone will set me free
From the pow’r and rule of sin.
And through Thee the victory win.

— Jack Swets

A Single Untruth

I shall never forget an untruth I once told, although it happened when I was a very little child. My younger sister had a quarter, with which she wished to buy a fig, but being too ill to go down to the store herself, she engaged me to go. Accordingly I went. As I returned with the fig nicely folded up in a small piece of paper, suddenly the thought occurred to me that I should like to take a peep at the fig. So I very carefully opened the paper. When the fig looked so very tempting, I thought I could not help but taste it a little at one end. I had scarcely eaten it before I wanted it all; and without much more thought, I ate up the whole fig! Then when it was gone, and I had nothing to do but to think, I began to feel very uncomfortable. I stood disgraced before myself. I thought of running away somewhere, I did not know where, but from whence I should never come back.

It was not long before I reached home. I went as quickly as I could. I told my sister that I had lost the quarter. I remember she cried sadly, but I went directly out into the garden, and tried to think of something else, but in vain. My own guilt stared me steadily in the face, and I was wretched. Although it was but a few minutes to the dinner hour, yet it seemed very long to me. I was anxious some event might intervene between me and the lie I had told. I wandered about with a very heavy heart. I thought I would give worlds if it had not happened.

When the dinner hour came, I was seated in my chair at my father’s side, when my sister made her appearance, crying and looking very much grieved. My father immediately asked what the matter was. Then my mother stated the story, the conclusion of which was that I had “lost the quarter.” I can never forget the look of kind, perfectly unsuspecting confidence with which my father turned on me, and with his large blue eyes full in my face, said, “Where did you lose the quarter? Perhaps we can find it again.”

Not for a single instant could I brave that tone and that look, but bursting into tears, I screamed out, “Oh, I did not lose the quarter! I ate up the fig.” A deadly silence followed. No one spoke. In an instant I seemed to be separated at an immense distance from all the rest of the family. A great gulf yawned between us. A sense of loneliness and desolation came over me, the impression of which will go with me all the days of my life. I left the table, and all that afternoon, the next day, and during the week my feelings were melancholy in the extreme. But my father and mother, brothers and sisters, received me back into their love and favor as time wore away, and my spirits recovered their usual tone. The whole event left an indelible impression on my mind and heart.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

— Psalm 51:10

“Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”

— Psalm 141:3

— The Little Cleaner for Children

The Child’s Complaint

Why should I love my sport so well,
So constant at my play;
And lose the thoughts of heaven and hell,
And then forget to pray?

What do I read my Bible for,
But, Lord, to learn Thy will;
And shall I daily know Thee more,
And less obey Thee still?

How senseless is my heart, and wild,
How vain are all my thoughts
Pity the weakness of a child,
And pardon all my faults.

Make me Thy heavenly voice to hear,
And let me love to pray;
Since God will lend a gracious ear
To what a child can say.

— Isaac Watts

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