Page 158 - Reading Job to Know God

same thing. If I lost a child, then I could comfort those who lost a child. If
I was delivered from drunkenness, I could help those who were delivered
from drunkenness. But God says in II Corinthians 1:4, you go through
trials so you can help those who are in “ANY affliction”. Because all pain
is the same at its root. Comfort others by the comfort which we ourselves
are comforted by God. And who is the Comforter, really? Enlarged
blessing for the sufferer. Enlarged blessing through the sufferer. And I
did not even tell you the main point yet in chapter 42:7–17.
God used Job. He used his sufferings. He blessed his friends. He became
priest and mediator. He blessed his family; he forgave them and restored
fellowship. Blessed his wife. Blesses us four thousand years later. But that
is not the main way God used Job. You see, Job blessed God Himself.
Job ministered to the heart of God. Remember the setting of the book.
Remember what it is all about. God was accomplishing something
before the eyes of Satan. God had said to Satan, “My servant will be true
to Me. My servant Job, even if you remove the hedge, even if you put him
between the hammer and the anvil, my servant will not forsake Me”.
Let me ask this question. Suppose no human being ever heard about your
problems. Nobody ever saw your sufferings. There were no stories told
about you. No one ever wrote a book. You would probably say, “Boy,
what a waste! Why did I have to go through all that? All for nothing. How
could God bless through me if no one ever hears about my problems?”
And the answer is, God would know about it. He would receive it as a
sweet sacrifice of praise unto Himself. It would minister directly to His
heart.

You see, that is the great principle in Matthew 26, verse 8. Remember
Mary came with that alabaster box of precious ointment? The disciples
cried out indignantly, “What is the point of this excess? Why this waste?”
Here is the principle. Anything that ministers to the heart of God is not
wasted. There is no excess if it ministers to Him. And God blessed Job.
Sure, he blessed his friends and he blessed his wife and He is blessing us
as we study. But most of all, Job was a blessing to the heart of God. Vs 7 -
8, God says four times,“My servant Job,” vs 9 “The Lord accepted Job”.

Editor’s Comment: Many years ago I went through what
my friends and family aptly described as a “Job
experience”. Y2K and the doomsday predictions fell

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