Skip to main content

Patience: Key to the Promises of God Part 02 ‘The Patience of Job’


That you do not become sluggish but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises - Hebrews 6:12

In our changing, trying times, the one thing we need above all else is divine patience; it can help you plough through the obstacles and keep going unto victory. More than that, it is a key to receiving the promises of God. Abraham had it, and so did Job - what about you?

In Part One we defined and described what is Biblical patience, based in part from James 5:7-11. You can read it for yourself at http://majdali.blogspot.com/2023/09/patience-key-to-unlocking-blessings-of.html

The paragon of patience was the patriarch Job. Few people have suffered as much as this man. He was exceedingly blessed by God and then tragedy hit on many fronts: in one calendar day, he lost his flocks, workers, and children. If that weren’t enough, he lost his health. His wife told him to let go of his integrity: just curse God and die. Fortunately for him and us, he did not listen to her. 

And there’s more: three friends came to ‘comfort’ him in such a manner that they made the situation much worse - bad enough that God rebuked them in the end. Then a young man named Elihu rebukes the older Job as having justified himself and not God. Yet, outspoken Elihu does not get divinely rebuked at all.

Finally, mercifully, God speaks to Job out of a whirlwind. He does not tell Job why He allowed all that suffering but because He is God, Sovereign of the universe, we are called to trust Him even when it makes no sense to the natural mind.

How did Job respond to God’s lengthy message? He returned to the fear of the Lord, committed himself to obedience, and repented in dust and ashes. In addition, he also prayed for his friends (42:10). 

What was the result of Job’s patience? In one word: restoration. His net worth was restored: The Lord caused his friends and extended family to come visit and they were compelled to give him money and jewels. His lost livestock was replaced by double the amount than before. 

His family was restored: Job had another ten children to replace the ones who were killed.

Job’s legacy was patient endurance that caused him to be blessed and restored more than ever. James 5:11 says God also was glorified as a merciful and compassionate to him.

Gems of Job

Like silver and gold tried in the fire, so was patient Job. Once the fire ceased, the silver and gold, now purified, remains and are enhanced. Job’s suffering and the book that bears his name have given us some great gems in the Word of God. These include:

Job 42:5-6: I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.


The patience that was forged in the furnace of affliction afforded Job an audience with the Lord, which impacted him and others to our day. No doubt Job was humbled by this experience and such humility is a magnet to ever-increasing grace.

Job 19:25-26: For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:


What a great Messianic and eschatological statement! Job speaks of a divine redeemer who is coming to ‘stand at the latter day’ upon the earth. Job believed that if death preceded the redeemer’s appearance, and worms ate his body, he spoke with perfect faith that ‘in his flesh’ - namely, his resurrected body - he would see God. 

This is perhaps the earliest statement affirming the bodily resurrection of all humanity (Daniel 12:2). And as Paul clearly affirms in 1 Corinthians 15, if the dead do not rise, then Christ didn’t rise either (v. 13). Fortunately for us all, Christ did rise as the first fruits of many more to come. As a Biblical principle when you see the first fruits early in the harvest season, it is your guarantee that the resMesst of the harvest fruit is coming. A down payment is a putative assurance that the rest of the money is on the way.


Job 23:10: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.


Speaking of ‘tried as gold,’ that was Job’s experience in summarized form. This verse tells us that if you want the gold, hold tight, be patient, trust God, and He will do the rest. It is a clarion call to patiently persevere or, as UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill told the nation during the Second World War: Never give up.


In Part 03, we will learn about the benefits of patience and how to acquire it in your life.


—TO BE CONTINUED

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 2025 Los Angeles Fires: The Bigger Issues

The new year had barely begun when New Orleans was rocked by a jihadist car ramming attack on the 1st of January. In Las Vegas, there was an explosion in front of the Trump hotel. Then, on the 7th of January, what arguably could be the most destructive fire in American history commenced. They are called the Los Angeles fires. Thousands of homes and businesses have been burned to the ground. Prestigious suburbs like Pacific Palisades or working-class Altadena look like war zones. Thousands of acres and buildings in America’s second-largest city have been destroyed and dozens have lost their lives or are recorded missing. People were told to evacuate their homes. Many abandoned their cars along the way because of the impasse. Thank God, they made it out alive but they lost everything but the clothes on their backs. It is a humanitarian crisis of the highest order. Like Australia, Southern California is dry and prone to fires. With the history and technology, there should have been pruden...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Twelve-Day War of June 2025: Israel and Iran Have We Turned A Corner?

After years of debate, negotiations, threats and risks, the inevitable finally came: military action. Israel pre-emptively attacked Iran’s nuclear program while neutralising its nuclear scientists and top military men. There was the Six-Day War of June 1967; now we have the Twelve-Day War of June 2025. The combatants: Israel, Iran, and briefly, the United States. Despite all this, have we turned a corner? The state of war started in 1979 after the successful installation of a theocratic, fundamentalist, puritanical regime called the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Islamic Republic overthrew the Shah of Iran, the last sovereign of a monarchy which lasted 2,500 years since the days of Cyrus the Persian, who is prominently mentioned in the Bible. The Shah was replaced by a Shia Muslim cleric, called the Supreme Leader, who possesses broad executive powers, more than the elected Iranian President. The Supreme Leader is the most powerful person in the country. From Day One, Iran announced its...
Post a Comment
Read more

‘Liberation Day:’ What The Trump Tariffs Are About?

  April 2, 2025, another day, another flurry of activity coming from the Oval Office. Yet, it wasn’t like any other day. After signing yet another Executive Order, US President Donald Trump declared it ‘Liberation Day.’ On paper, he had ordered ten per cent tariffs across the board on countries worldwide, friend and foe alike. In reality, he is shaking up the world's economic and political order, deliberately. Initially, there was great consternation around the world. The stock market and, more worryingly, the bond market dived. Dozens of nations queued up to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement with the American administration. Then, Trump announced a 90-day freeze on tariffs for those countries that had reached out to the Americans. Both stock and bond markets recovered; a correction came to what was overvalued, and life calmed down for the moment. While critics derisively called the ‘tariff freeze’ a ‘backflip,’ it was actually part of the plan all along. Liberation Day spawned...
Post a Comment
Read more