I STILL BELIEVE-- Job 13:15

Intro: Now, here is the bottom line, if we are going to be the people that God wants us to be, we must learn how to handle life’s valleys, trials, and problems. 

 The lessons in this book can give us the faith to echo the words of Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”  I want us to learn these lessons tonight so that when we face the difficult times of life, we can look confidently into the face of our Heavenly Father and declare, “I still believe!”

 I                                       JOB’S TROUBLES

A.  Job lost much: Family, Fortune, Fitness, Friends

B.  Our Troubles - Job 5:7; 14:1; Eccl. 2:17, 23; John 16:33. None of us get out of here untouched and unscathed by trouble.

C.  Troubles will do one of two things in your life:

1.  They Can Drive you to God – If you understand that the Lord is in control of all of life, Job 1:6-12; Job 2:1-6, then you can rest in the sure knowledge that God is in control of all that comes to pass in life, Rom. 8:28.

2.  They Can Drive you away from God - Our troubles will either make us or break us.)

II.                                  JOB’S TEMPTATIONS

A.  He Could Have Blamed God - (On God - Job 1:11; 2:5; On Self - Job 8:1-5, his friends said it was his fault!)

B.  He Could Have Become Bitter Toward God – Job could have adopted the attitude of his wife - Job 2:9. (Ill. Many people react with bitterness toward the things God allows in their lives.  The deaths of loved ones, illnesses, tragedies, etc., all have the power to create bitterness within our hearts, if we do not maintain the proper perspective.)

C.  He Could Have Chose Not To Bother With God - (Ill. Giving up - Gal. 6:9) (3:1-19; 6:8-9)

III.                                       JOB’S TESTIMONY

A.  He Worshiped God - Job 1:20 - Renewed his commitment. (Ill. This is not the reaction most people exhibit.)

B.  He Witnessed To God - 1:21 - Declared his faith in God.  (Ill. God shouldn’t have to please us to get us to serve Him!) (Ill. We love it when the Lord gives.  We do not like it when the Lord takes away!  But, the same God Who gives is the same God Who can also take things away.  Ill. Elijah and his dry brook, 1 Kings 171-7.  By the way, sometimes trouble comes because you are in the will of God.

            C.  He Didn’t Wrong God - 1:22; 2:10 - Didn’t accuse God.

                                    1.  He declared confidence in God purposes - 42:2; Rom. 8:28

                                    2.  He realized his limited perspective - Job 42:3

D.  He Waited On God - 42:5 - He knew that he didn’t understand it all.  Therefore, he placed his eyes on God.  Heb. 12:1-3

 IV.                                         JOB’S TRIUMPH

A.  Job’s Realization - 42:5-6 - That victory lies in God - 1 Cor. 15:57. Job won the victory in 1:21; planted the flag in 13:15; and marched home in glory in 42:6.

B.  His Restoration - 42:10b-17 - (Ill. Twice as much!)  God can give you better things than those you might have lost, or are worried over losing!

C.  His Reflection – 42:14 - We are told that Job and his wife had 10 more children.  Three of them were daughters.  We are told their names, and the names Job gave to these girls revealed the condition of his heart.

1.  Jemima - (Day or dove) - This name indicates that God had given Job day in place of his night and peace in place of his turmoil.

2.  Kezia - (Fragrance) - Indicating that God had replaced Job’s sorrow with the sweet smell of His grace.

3.  Keren-Happuch - (Box of eye-paint) - This word was also used to refer to Moses when he came off the mountain with his face aglow with the glory of God.  It refers to glory, or brightness.  The idea here is that Job is praising God for the fact that God has replaced his wretchedness with glory!

Conclusion:  May the Lord help each one of us reach the place that no matter what life throws at us, we can honestly say, “I still believe!”