Waiting For The Tide

"Waiting for the Tide"

Job 42:12-13

Job 42:12 So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.

Introduction: One of the greatest stories in the Bible is the life of Job. His life is a perfect example of what I hope to speak about today. All of my life I've heard folks talk about how the tide goes out and if you are patient it will come back in. We know this to be the case for just a little basic science lets us know that the gravitational pull of the moon is responsible for the changes in the tide. We hear about high tide and low tide and the tide going in and the tide going out but the thing that I want to emphasis is that even though the tide does go out it will always come back in and in this fact there is a truth that has a spiritual application for you and me! Let's look at Job's life as "the tide goes out!"

I. JOB'S ADVERSITY

The important thing for you and I to remember here is that every man, woman and child will face adversity in life. It is an inescapable fact that God will allow us to face adversity. It will take three forms:

a. We all face Satan's torments

There can be no doubt that as you read the first two chapters of Job you can't help but notice that Satan had a part to play in the adversity that Job experienced. He is not the friend of the human race. We know that he is devious, deceptive and dangerous and he has one thing on his mind, to destroy what God created. We know that the Apostle Peter describes him as a "...roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour..." One of the contradictions of Job's situation is that:

"It wasn't Job's wealth that brought Satan against him. It wasn't his possessions that drew him into sin and then into great trials. It was Job's faithfulness. Satan only used all of the things that Job had as tools to try to bring him down. It's not what you possess that determines your real value and your real character, it's not what you have that defines your life, and it's what is in your heart that really matters!

I also must say that it was not Job's neglect of his family, or a self-centered lifestyle that brought on his trials."

James May from a sermon "The Faithfulness of God."

Satan is your enemy and don't ever forget that!

b. We all face sin's temptations

Temptation is an experience that every member of the human race has in common and the source of temptation is the "lust" of our own flesh.

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:

James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

"But let me say this, in answer to those among us like many foolish preachers, and foolish Christian brothers and sisters, who will blame every adversity that comes against other people as being the result of sin in the life of the one who is suffering. How many times have I heard people ask, "What did I do, or what did you do, to bring this sickness, this pain and this heartache upon yourself?" What a foolish question! It's as though that brother or sister in the Lord, who is facing hardship, has already been charged, judged and sentenced for some sin that they didn't even commit. We always claim that our own suffering is due to God testing our faithfulness, but we seldom give that credit to anyone else. They just had to do something wrong to be going through what they are going through right now."

James May from a sermon "The Faithfulness of God."

Job was tempted to sin during his ordeal but he didn't:

Job 1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

c. We all face the Sovereign's testing

Make no mistake, God will allow (send) trials into our lives. The Scriptures are filled with examples of God allowing His servants to be tested, sometimes severely tested, even unto death. Let's read a few verses from Hebrews 11:

33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: