What I Feared Has Come Upon Me (Job 3:25)

All right. So, we're doing this a little bit differently. We uh on Thursday when I did our morning u devotional. Sadly, I forgot to record it. So, uh my wife said, "Don't worry, you could just do it at home." So, this is a little bit different, a little strange for me because normally I I have a live audience, but uh but I'll do the best I can here uh knowing that hopefully people are going to see this and and it's going to resonate and whoever needs to hear it is is going to hear it. And so, on Thursday, we we uh we covered Job uh 3 and 25. And before I read the text, I'm I'm not going to we're not going to do the whole story of Job, but I but I need to give you some context if you if you don't know the story.

And so Job was uh Job was a righteous man. He was a man that God says he uh he could find without fault. And uh and he was a very wealthy man. He had a lot of money, a lot of possessions. He had a a great wife, lots of kids. Uh he he was on top of his game, so to speak. That that was Job. And uh and then uh Satan and God have a conversation one day. and and uh and and so Satan's trying to tell God that the only reason why Job is obedient and uh and follows God is basically because God's given him all this stuff. And so so basically without going in on the entire story, God allows Satan to touch Job to take away everything except his wife.

He loses all of his possessions, all of his kids die, loses all of his wealth, but Job refuses to curse God. He refuses to uh Job's about 42, I think, chapters long. The first couple of chapters are riveting. The last few chapters, Job's having a conversation with God, and he's pointing his finger at God, and God just goes off on him. Uh, you know, where were you when I did this? He's talking to Job. Where were you when I set the boundaries and created the oceans? And and he he's he's literally letting Job know that he is sovereign, not Job. Um, and so in between the beginning and the end uh of Job, his friends are there and his friends are uh trying to tell him that it's his fault that he must have done something wrong in order for this to happen.

So, so this is the story of Job, right? Uh the good news is at the end, if I don't spoil the story for you, God restores Job uh and he gives him double portion of everything that he had. And and maybe that's his reward for not cursing God. Maybe that's his reward for never forgetting that God is sovereign and never forgetting who God was, that he was the Lord of his life. So, so this text that we're going to talk about today shows an area where Job may have missed it, where an area where the enemy was allowed to come in and affect Job. And it's Job 3 and verse 25.

And it says, "What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true." And so this gives us a little insight into Job's mindset uh in in this book. And so he says, "What I've always feared." And so what we really get to see here or read about Job is that he he attained a status. He got to this level and then uh his his own humanity kind of started to take over and and forgetting how it is he had what he had. And so he started fearing losing this. Well, it it wasn't his to begin with. His his fear shouldn't have been in losing anything.

His fear should really be in losing his salvation or his relationship with God. But that wasn't it. And so, he allowed fear. And the enemy really truly used that. And I think that that holds true for a lot of us today, no matter where we're at, is that when we we get a good thing. And look at and I'm guilty of that. You know, I've I've had some some really good highs and some and some really really low lows. And and when we're coming back up as as as admittedly my my family is right now, we're on this we're on this climb up for as long as God wants us to be on this path.

But I have to admit that that there's a little bit of job inside of me where I'm kind of waiting for that that shoe to come around the corner that that that that shoe to kind of knock it down and and and we shouldn't have that. I think it's u second Timothy uh talks about the fact that um I think it's sec 2 second Timothy 17. Don't quote me. Uh go look it up, but I believe it's 2 Timothy 1:7. is that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of love, of power, of of self-control. That's what he wants us to have. He doesn't want us to be fearful.

That that doesn't come from him. Fear comes from the enemy. That's not of God. And and Job was fearful. He he was afraid that he was going to lose these things. And and most of us in our lives have had that thing where we've had it and then we hold on so tight that we allow fear to get in. And we just shouldn't do that. God doesn't want us to hold on tight. He He may have you in this season today doing something and he may have a completely different season for you a year from now or two years from now or five years from now and it may be a different place and point in your life.

And so what what we need to do is not hold on that tight to to know that this is God's and God has a work for us and that work for us today may be very different than the work he has for us for tomorrow. So if you're if you're that person who heard this and and you're holding on too tightly uh and you're allowing the enemy to reach you via fear and what you might lose, we have to remember who's really in charge here. It's really God. God is the one who's in control. and and and you have what you have today for the very reason that God gave you those gifts and those abilities to have it.

And if he decides today that you shouldn't have that, then thank God. In fact, uh I covered this on Thursday and and I've read it recently and I can't remember where uh but I want to share with you the the three thank God rule. And what that does is it really helps us to transform and renew our minds. And that's what Romans uh 12:1 and 2 talk about to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. and and we can get caught up in, man, this this always happens to me or or man, it's it's always something something's got to happen. And and I know that there are a lot of us uh that that that live our lives that way.

There a lot of us that walk in that in that light. And so, here's this three thank God rule. When something happens and and our natural mind wants to or our natural brain wants to immediately go, "Yep, figured this has had to happen." We we need to employ the three thank God rule. Let me give you an example. you're on your way to a meeting and or an inner job interview and you get a flat tire. Instead of going throwing your hands up and going, I can't believe this and and shouting off all the negative things you can, it's the three thank God rule.

Well, thank God I have a spare tire. Thank God uh my phone is is fully charged. And thank God I've got a jack. And if we start employing that three thank God rule to the things that happen to us in our lives, it truly starts to transform our mindset, it truly starts to put where the gratitude and the love needs to be, and that's on our our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So, I hope this helps somebody. Um uh I don't have to worry about it being 9:27 right now and doing another meeting. Uh but we still need to bow our heads and and close out and pray.

So, pray with me. Father, thank you so much for today. Thank you for your word. Thank you uh for giving us these gifts. Thank you for giving us this word where where we can learn that that you did not give us that spirit of fear that that that absolutely comes from the enemy, but that you've given us a spirit of love and of power and of self-control. Lord, I pray that when when uh when the world hits and things happen to us, that we would remember the gratitude, Father. That we would remember the three thank God rule. That we would start to train our minds.

And I and I wish and and I I'm sure Job did back then, that that he had someone that would share that with him as well, too. that that when the enemy took away his crops and when the enemy took away his belongings and when the enemy took away his kids and and as difficult and as hard as it may have been at that moment to thank God, it's what we need to do. So, Father, watch over us this weekend. Guide us, direct us, give us the strength to be able to thank you even in when the circumstances in the natural don't look like that's what should be done.

Father, we ask that you guide us, uh, protect us, give us an opportunity, Lord, to be somebody this weekend, uh, that can share the love of Christ, even if it's just indeed that someone else might get an opportunity to see what that looks like. Father, we love you. We praise you, we thank you, and as always, in your son, Jesus Christ's mighty name we pray. Amen.

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly edited for readability.