For the next few days, we are going to follow the journey of a great man who walked with God and held evil at bay. He was blessed with ten children and much wealth. He not only took care of himself, but his “regular custom” was to make sure his children were purified by the sacrifice of a burnt offering. Job was strolling along singing Curly’s song from the musical, Oklahoma! —Oh, what a beautiful mornin’! Oh, what a beautiful day! Everything was going his way until…the bottom fell out of his life. There was a time when a person heard the name “Job” and thought “blessing”; today the name is tantamount to suffering.

Job 1:1-5
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

Job never saw it coming. But wave after wave after wave of disaster crashed into his front door. Tragedy, loss, illness, rejection, annoying friends…pain pierced Job’s heart. Even his wife turned on him. One day, he basked in blessing; the next, he baked in the heat of calamity. I am amazed at how quickly Job’s world turned upside down. Perhaps your world has turned just as suddenly.

So maybe you are in Job’s seat today. A broken body…a broken heart…a broken dream has left you sitting in emotional loneliness and fear. Times of blessing are a distant memory. Pain has become a constant companion. Let’s follow this man and his journey. We will learn about real pain, real prayer, bad counsel, and real recovery. And most of all, we’ll gain an understanding of a great God who can always be trusted.

Father, I pray for those sitting in Job’s seat today. Comfort them. Encourage them. Deliver them. Show them that you are still the great God! In Jesus’ name. Amen.