"Fear And Thanksgiving"

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped." Job 1:20

I wasn't going to send out a devotional this morning since it is a holiday here in the United States, but the Lord woke me up early this morning and spoke a simple- yet powerful- statement to me to share with you. This is it: "Even in the worst situations, there is still something to be thankful for".

If ever there was a man who faced unimaginable grief, hardship and sorrow it was Job. He lost everything he possessed, his wife wanted him to curse God and die, his friends accused him while "comforting" him, he lost his entire family, yet in his time of lamentation he worshipped God.

Job was no different then we are. He was just another ordinary man. He wasn't a "super saint". He wasn't a mega church pastor or a prophet. He was in deep grief, he didn't understand everything that was happening, he was hurting, and he questioned why. Yet he still worshipped God through it all. How? How did he make it through it? "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." (Job 1:1) Job feared the Lord. Our fear of the Lord will sustain us when everything is against us, when our world is shaken, when the bottom falls out from beneath us and when everything else fails us. It will give us the power to stand and continue on.

How did his fear of the Lord cause him to find something to be thankful for which caused him to worship? "And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21) Because he remembered where His blessings came from in the first place. He remembered that anything he has was given to him by the grace of God. He knew that God was in control- He had the power to give and take away. He knew that regardless of what he was going through God was still worthy to be praised. He knew that when you praise and worship the Lord it brings His presence closer in a deeper way. And he knew that all things- some way, some how- work together for the good of those who love and fear the Lord. Therefore, there was still something that he could be thankful for. Everything else in his life may have been gone, but his fear of the Lord was still in tact.

You may be going through the darkest time of your life. You may be facing tremendous grief and sorrow. You may be at the bottom and see no hope in sight. But hold on to your fear of the Lord. It is the anchor that will hold you steady as this storm is raging.

Have a great day. Even in the worst situations, there is still something to be thankful for.

For further reading:
Job 1
Romans 8:28
Psalm 100

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
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