Will I Trust In God No Matter What?

 “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.” Job‬ ‭13‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • Think about the meaning of what Job is saying in this one short sentence. “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him”. ‭‭
  • To “slay” something is to kill; strike down. Sounds pretty harsh doesn’t it? I think what Job is saying is that even if the Lord kills him, he will still place his hope in the Lord! Which begs the question, can I truthfully say my hope is in God no matter what? Even if He kills me? What about you? This made me think of the story of Esther in the Bible. She was going to go before the king, without being summoned first, in hopes of saving her people, and decided to be courageous and basically said, “If I perish, I perish”. Or the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel. They were threatened with being thrown into the fiery furnace if they did not bow down to the kings image, but they would not, they in essence told the king that even if their God did not save them, they would not bow down. And of course Daniel himself, who faithfully prayed three times a day, even when he knew the consequences meant being thrown in the lion’s den! 
  • I’m sure there are many other stories in the Bible, of people who courageously stood by their faith in God, no matter what the outcome. But what about me? What about you? When the waters become rough; when the boat begins to rock; when there’s a bump in my road or a hiccup in my life? Can I, like Job say,  “though he slay me, yet I will trust in him”? Or will I allow the waters to pull me under? Will I let the lies of the enemy drag me into the darkness as I sink into the mud of self pity, anxiety, fear, and defeat? Can I truthfully take to heart the words in this song by Building 429, “whatever may come our way through fire or pouring rain no we won’t be shaken, no we won’t be shaken, whatever tomorrow brings together we’ll rise and sing that we won’t be shaken, no we won’t be shaken”? As Psalm 23:5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…”  To which I respond, “my enemies Lord? Why  are they here? Why did you invite them? To which He replies, “So you will learn to focus on Me and not them”. So, no matter how difficult things may get, can we still place our hope in God? Still place our trust in Him for WHO He is, not just for what He does, in the good times and the bad? 
  • As we know, all of these stories ended with a positive outcome. And don’t they also for us? When you take time to remember, once you’ve walked through the “fiery furnace”, or through the “valley of the shadow of death”, didn’t you come out stronger than you were before? Don’t you feel your faith was strengthened? Can you see the truth of Romans 8:28? “And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose?”
  • ‭‭ I am not there yet, where I can say what Job said, but day by day, moment by moment, I will learn to lean on the strength the Lord gives me to overcome my enemies. I will remind myself of Deuteronomy 20:4, “for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’” And I will remember to put on my Armor every day, or every moment if necessary. Especially the “Sword of the Spirit”, which is the Word of God, so I can counter the lies of satan with the truth of Scripture. (Ephesians 6:17)

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