Dealing With Discontentment预览

While Joseph is a great example, Job is the poster child for discontentment. The story of Job requires a perspective shift to understand genuinely; even then, we may have a hard time accepting it. In Job’s story, we see that he is a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil. One day, Satan approaches God and says that he has been roaming the earth. God then asks Satan if he has considered his servant Job.

After some back and forth, God says that Satan can touch all that he has, but don’t touch him. In a catastrophic turn of events, Job then loses his children and all of his property. Job provides an example of how to respond in Job 1:22 when it says, “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.”

In Job 2, a similar thing happens, but this time, God tells Satan he can touch his body but spare his life. Job is then struck with boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Again, Job takes the posture for us to glean from after his wife suggests that he curse God and die when it says in Job 2:10: “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

For nearly forty chapters, Job deals with the repercussions of God’s invitation for Satan to affect Job’s life. In this time, we would see Job give us quotes like, “Though He slays me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15). ” It isn’t until Job 42 (verses 12-13) that we see the Lord blessing the later days of Job more than his beginning.

We need to remember that Satan had to ask permission to even tempt Job with what he was able to do to him. I don’t share Job’s story to suggest that God is responsible for what you may be experiencing but to help you understand that no matter what is happening, God is still in control. The greater perspective in this that may be hard for you to receive is that Job came highly recommended. God recommended Job to show Satan that there are people who trust God, whether Satan touches their stuff, their family, or even their health. In the end, Job becomes even more blessed in his latter years. That’s a promise worth trusting God for!

As you ponder your own situation, I pray you can trust God even when the circumstances suggest the absence of God. Romans 8:28 tells us that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God. We may not understand why things are happening to us, but we must choose to trust God in the middle of the storms. Our faith in God has to be bigger than the stuff, the dream, the plan, etc. I know this day may have been tough to agree with, but I pray you continue as I provide more practical steps to address discontentment over the next few days.

Prayer: Lord, help me shift my perspective to understand that You cause all things to work together and that You waste nothing. I may not understand how or why I feel this way, but I choose to trust You. I trust You over the reality of my circumstances and my feelings. I know that You will never leave nor forsake me; this is just an opportunity to give You glory. In Jesus' name, amen.