The Inspiration I Gained From Job’s Experience

The Inspiration I Gained From Job’s Experience

Luo Fan

Recently, I came across many difficulties in my job, which made me open the Book of Job and read it again. I saw the archetypal words spoken by Job: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). Pondering these verses, I wondered: Why was Job able to utter these words when such a great disaster befell him? What power made him say them?

With this question, I searched everywhere, and finally found the answer in the following passage of words in a spiritual book: “In his heart, Job profoundly believed that all he possessed had been bestowed upon him by God, and had not come off the back of his own labor. Thus, he did not see these blessings as something to be capitalized upon, but took holding on to the way that he should by tooth and nail as his living principles. He cherished God’s blessings, and gave thanks for them, but he was not enamored of, nor did he seek more blessings. Such was his attitude toward property. He neither did anything for the sake of gaining blessings, nor worried about or was aggrieved by the lack or loss of God’s blessings; he neither became wildly, deliriously happy because of God’s blessings, nor ignored the way of God or forgot the grace of God because of the blessings he frequently enjoyed” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II”). Job had received so many blessings from God, but he did not regard them as something to be capitalized upon, nor did he forget God’s grace because of them. When he lost all his property, instead of being sorrowful and distressed or gathering his servants to go wrest them back, he obeyed God’s sovereignty and arrangement.

Then I thought about myself: When I was blessed by God in my job at ordinary times and everything went right for me, I would always admire myself secretly, thinking that I had the ability, and I often showed off my brilliance and achievements in front of my colleagues. But because I was arrogant, self-satisfied, and self-righteous, God hid His face from me. Without the leadership and guidance of God, I lived in the darkness, becoming like a fool. Not only did My work performance drop sharply, but I couldn’t see through the problems in my job at all. I even felt that I was incapable of doing this job and would be fired at any time. Living in a state of depression and disappointment, I either complained that the difficulty of the job was great or complained that the clients and the leaders were too demanding. … At that time, Job could act that way when he only realized from his experiences that all he possessed was bestowed upon him by God. Such a humanity is truly admired by our later generation. In contrast, I, who have believed in God for many years, knew clearly that the achievements I made in my work all came from God’s blessings, but when I lost these blessings, I was unhappy or even negative and retreating.

Reflecting on the journey I’ve gone through, I realized that, in order to save us, God has been setting up different environments for us at different times. Sometimes God arranges an environment of ease, in which we live in God’s blessings. At such times, we should thank God for His grace, and should not steal His glory. Sometimes God creates adversity for us to better perfect us. For example, in the case of Job, after he underwent the trial of losing everything and life threatening, he saw God and said, “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees you” (Job 42:5); such a result is only achieved through adverse circumstances. Another point, which is especially important, is that we shouldn’t misunderstand God’s will while undergoing adversities, for God does not have the intention to abandon us nor does He want us to suffer when He allows hardships to befall us. Sometimes in order to temper us, through the adversities, God leads us to overcome the difficulties and improve our professional skills. Sometimes we run up against a wall because we have some false viewpoints within; and so we have to come before God to examine ourselves so as to know our false viewpoints and have them transformed. Sometimes because there’s something wrong with our work but we don’t realize it, God allows us encounter setbacks so as to force us to stop and reconsider the work, so that we will find the problems and get them resolved. … All in all, when we meet with difficulties in our work, it contains God’s intentions of various aspects, which requires us to ponder carefully in the actual difficulties.

My false viewpoints were altered through Job’s experience. In my future experiences, I’m willing to seek God’s will in all things and obey God’s arrangements. When I don’t understand or can’t see clearly God’s will, I will no longer blindly judge and misunderstand God’s will. I will pursue to have true faith and obedience in God like Job, achieving a deeper knowledge of God.

Jesus Christ is God Himself. The Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit, They are One. We can know from the bible verses, the Lord Jesus said, “he that has seen me has seen the Father….” (John 14:9) “I am in the Father, and the Father in me….” (John 14:10) “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).

Can Man Define Where God Appears?

 Can Man Define Where God Appears?

Yikao, Hunan Province

One day, in a Bible study meeting, I had a debate with several brothers and sisters because of our different opinions about the Lord’s appearance. I believed that the Lord would appear on the Mount of Olives in Israel when He returned, for the Bible says: “And his feet shall stand in that day on the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east” (Zechariah 14:4). Israel was the birthplace of God’s work, so the Lord would still descend in Israel when He returned in the last days. As long as we paid close attention to any signs in Israel, we would surely be able to welcome the Lord’s appearance. While a sister raised a query, “Now all sorts of disasters have frequently occurred, and the prophecies of the Lord’s return have already been fulfilled.

After Ten Years, My Hope Has Finally Come True! – A Christian Testimony

After Ten Years, My Hope Has Finally Come True! – A Christian Testimony

Tiexin, Taiwan

In November 2002, on one occasion I was admitted into the church, was baptized and became a Christian of the Local Church. At that time, a brother told me, “The preaching of the Local Church is the loftiest and the truth here is the purest. We are the called-out congregation from the world and the people most blessed by the Lord.” All his words made me feel that I indeed enjoyed a great blessing in that I could have meetings in the Local Church. Immediately a sense of superiority emerged from my heart.

Put Down Fame and Wealth, Found the True Meaning of Life

Put Down Fame and Wealth, Found the True Meaning of Life

The short video vividly presented two once simple juice vendors who fell in love with each other at first sight gave up the simple happiness for fame and gain. As their business kept growing, there was only rivalry and hatred left in their hearts. When they got back their composure, their desire had already propelled two once-simple juice stands into monstrous mechanical processing plants. Their competition soon got out of hand. They ultimately chose to find their original intentions and started over, guarding the simple and happy life filled with laughter.

Strongest Hurricane Ever Recorded Kills 14 People; Warnings of the Last Days Escalate

Strongest Hurricane Ever Recorded Kills 14 People; Warnings of the Last Days Escalate

Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm, the strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean sped across the Caribbean islands on Thursday morning (September 7th), which damaged many buildings and trees, affected over 1.2 million people, and made thousands of people homeless and killed at least 14 people. Almost 90 percent of all structures on Antigua and Barbuda had been destroyed, rendering the islands “barely habitable.” The hurricane Irma has been downgraded after making landfall in Haiti, Turks and Caicos Islands and Bahamas. When Irma makes its closest approach to Florida with 180 miles per hour—most likely before 10th—the state government has ordered all public schools closed and issued a mandatory evacuation order for 500 thousand residents.

God’s Words Eradicated the Barriers Between My Mother-in-law and Me

God’s Words Eradicated the Barriers Between My Mother-in-law and Me

Liu Chao

All say it’s hard for mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to get along well. But I got on all right with my mother-in-law after my marriage. We always went shopping and bought food together. Besides, I often bought clothes for her. We had never been at outs. Later, my brother-in-law got a girlfriend who was beautiful and lived in a favorable condition. However, the girl’s mother opposed the marriage at first, saying that they were not of equal rank. Even so, they insisted on getting married. At last their parents reluctantly made preparations for their wedding. My mother-in-law bought my brother-in-law a big house of three bedrooms, a living room and a dining room, 130 square meters. What’s more, whatever my sister-in-law wanted, she bought for her. One night, my husband and I went to see my brother-in-law’s ready-furnished house.

How Are the Prophecies of the Blood Moon in the Bible Fulfilled?

How Are the Prophecies of the Blood Moon in the Bible Fulfilled?

In the United States, at the night of 23th August 2016, Jennifer, an amateur photographer, captured several images of a giant blood moon in New York City. In the picture, the moon was darkly red just like Mars, and against the night of Manhattan it looked extremely huge, almost covering the whole sky. Jennifer also posted the pictures in her camera to prove that they hadn’t been photoshopped. These photographs, after being uploaded to the Facebook, immediately stirred up a public discussion.