I WILL TRUST GOD

I Will Trust God.

    >Faith trusts God when things go wrong.<

    The OT is valuable as it shows God’s people exercising their faith.  Compare Hebrews 11.  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”  Heb 11:1-3

    1. Job had his faith tested.

    We are being given a glimpse of what is taking place in our world.  God permitted Satan to severely test Job’s faith.  Job and the others did not know what was happening.  God finally told Job: “Look to Me and My Glory.”  So should we do.

    “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15

    “With the Lord there is neither beginning of days, nor end of life, nor change of time. His name is holy, and all must know him as a holy God. He will have tender regard to those who bring their mind to their condition, and dread his wrath. He will make his abode with those whose hearts he has thus humbled, in order to revive and comfort them. When troubles last long, even good men are tempted to entertain hard thoughts of God. Therefore He will not contend for ever, for he will not forsake the work of his own hands, nor defeat the purchase of his Son's blood.”—Matthew Henry Concise

    a) Job’s hopes destroyed.

    “And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”  Job 1:12

    “...reach out... test him... Do whatever you want: Satan was God's agent; the hand he put forth was the Lord's as well as Satan's, for here they acted against everything Job possessed and later against Job himself (2:5-6). •Job later cursed the day of his birth (3:1, 8), but he did not curse God (31:30), even when his distraught wife urged him to do so (2:9). • God allowed Satan to test Job to prove that Satan's cynicism was incorrect (1 Cor 10:11; see Jas 1:13; cp. Luke 22:31-32; John 19:11).—NLT Study Bible

    “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.   And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.”  Job 1:20-22

    b) Job’s faith remains strong.

    “Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"  But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”  Job 2:9-10

    “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.  He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him.”  Job 13:15-17

    It is right to tell God of our unhappiness.  “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.   Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.   And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  2 Cor 12:7-9

    c) Habakkuk has his faith tested.

    “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls-- Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”  Habakkuk 3:17-18

    “Habakkuk 3:17-19 After recounting God's mighty acts of redemption (3:2-15), and pausing to consider them (3:16), Habakkuk now reaffirms his trust in God as he closes his prayer. • Even though... yet I will rejoice: Even if God never pours out material blessing on his people again, he is still worthy of all the trust and praise they can give. Come what may, the prophet could rejoice, knowing that the Lord is not only Israel's Redeemer, but also the source of his own salvation.  3:19 Habakkuk owed whatever strength he had to the Sovereign Lord, his Savior (3:18). Habakkuk compared his spiritual climb to a deer swiftly ascending to the mountaintops and gracefully gliding over them (cp. Ps 18:32-33). • He makes me as surefooted as a deer: Or He gives me the speed of a deer.”  —NLT Study Bible