The Children's Chapel Award-winning site, featuring Bible stories from a variety of authors, excellent Christian resources for children, and over 140 links to other Christian and family-friendly sites for kids. ~ A Ministry of The Missing Link, Inc. ~ Job's Faithfulness by Brian Carlisle Mrs. Workman opened her oven door and removed the cake that was to be the center of celebration for her son, Greg. Today in school, Greg was to be honored in front of the entire school for his outstanding achievement of saving two young children who had nearly drowned in a nearby lake. Just one week ago, on his way home from school, Greg had witnessed the two children fall into the water and sink below the surface. Casting all personal safety aside, Greg had dove into the water and pulled both children to safety. Mrs. Workman placed the cake on the kitchen table and was just beginning to spreading the icing when Greg burst into the room and threw his books into the floor. "Today was the worst day of my life!" Greg screamed. "I wish I hadn't even gone to school today!" "Greg!" his mother called out in shock. "What happened? Didn't the school have the honor ceremony for you?" "Yes," Greg nearly cried as he plopped into a kitchen chair. "But that is when my whole life began to come apart." "What do you mean by that?" Greg's mother asked as she pulled over a chair beside him. "Calm down and tell me what happened." "Well," Greg began, "after I received the award, I was walking back to my seat when Bob, the school bully, stuck out his foot and tripped me." "Oh, my!" Mrs. Workman gasped compassionately. "I didn't completely fall, but people began to laugh at me." Tears filled Greg's eyes. "Then when I went to sit down, Paul, my best friend, pulled the chair away and I crashed to the floor! Everyone in the auditorium began laughing at me!" "That's terrible!" his mother exclaimed. "But that's not all!" Greg continued. "From that time on, everyone in the school began making fun of me and calling me ïShow-off' and saying I had a big head and deserved the fall." Greg, heart-broken, looked into his mom's compassionate eyes. "Why did everyone turn into my enemies? Even my closest friends, Paul, Andy, and Kimberly laughed at me and teased me. I didn't do anything wrong! All I did was save two children's lives!" "Greg," his mother began, "permit me tell you a little story about a man long ago, named Job. * * * "Now Job, the Bible says, was a righteous man and no fault could be found in him. But one day, Satan appeared before God, who was seated on his throne. Satan said that he had been walking up and down the earth. God replied with a question. God asked Satan if he had observed his servant Job. Job, God said, was a perfect and upright man, one who feared God and hated evil. In the whole world there was no one as perfect and righteous or as good as Job. "To God, Satan gave a challenge. Satan accused that Job would not be faithful if he was allowed to test Job. Satan said that if he was allowed to test Job that Job would sin. So Satan asked God for permission to put Job to a test. God granted Satan permission and told Satan to do what he desired, but not to take Job's life. Happily Satan agreed and left to attack the good man, Job." "But what had Job done wrong?" Greg asked with great interest. "Not a thing," his mother replied. "Satan believed that he could make Job sin, but God knew that although Job was a rich man, that Job was also a godly man and that Job would never sin against God." "What did Satan do?" Greg begged his mother to continue the story. Fire from heaven"In one morning Satan sent thieves to steal Job's cattle. He sent the Sabeans to steal Job's cattle, 500 pairs of oxen and 500 donkeys, and kill the servants guarding them. Next fire fell from heaven and burned up his 7,000 sheep and the servants with them. As if that wasn't enough, more thieves, the Chaldeans, stole Job's 3,000 camels and killed his servants guarding them," Greg's mother began the story. "That is terrible!" Greg exclaimed. "The news of all those terrible attacks had to hurt Job very badly!" "They did, but that's not the end of the story," his mother interrupted. "No sooner did Job hear of these attacks than another servant ran up to Job and told Job that while all his sons and daughters were in a house, a great wind rose up and hit the four corners of the house and caused the house to crumble. All of Job's children were killed." "What did Job do?" Greg nearly cried. "The Bible said that Job tore his clothes in mourning, shaved his head, and declared, 'Blessed be the name of the Lord!'" Greg's mother smiled. "The Bible says that in all this, Job sinned not." "Job won!" Greg cheered. "Greg, this was only the beginning," his mother replied. "Satan struck Job with a disease and his whole body was covered with big sores that tormented Job. Then to add insult to Job's misery, Job's wife advised Job to 'just curse God and die!' Even Job's close friends accused Job of having sinned and bringing this judgment upon him. No one defended or pitied Job." "What did Job do?" Greg pleaded. "Job never sinned. Job faithfully endured this great trial. Job had done nothing to deserve these attacks upon his family and himself except to live a holy and good life," his mother smiled. "You see, Greg, Satan and many evil people in this world hate it when they find someone who lives a godly life. They will do everything in their power to destroy that person and to cause them to become angry and to sin." "Like what happened to me today, but only worse," Greg admitted. "Yes, except what happened to you today was not nearly as bad as what Job had to endure," Greg's mother agreed. "But this is not the end of the story of Job. * * * "In the end, Job received many blessings from God. The Bible says that God gave Job two times as much as he had before. He now had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 pairs of oxen and 1,000 donkeys." "Wow!" Greg exclaimed. "But there's more." Greg's mother added. "Eventually all Job's friends and relatives came to realize that Job had not sinned. All came to Job and begged his forgiveness for their accusations against him. The Bible states they comforted him and gave him money and gold." "Amazing!" Greg exclaimed. "That's still not all!" Greg's mother smiled. "The Bible says that Job lived 140 years after this trial and had seven sons and three daughters who were the most beautiful in all the land." Greg's mother reached over and rubbed Greg's hair. "Because Job was a righteous man, Satan and his evil forces attacked him. But because Job refused to sin, God blessed Job far beyond his wildest expectations." For a few moments, Greg sat beside his mother in deep thought. One by one he compared his problems to the problems of Job. Finally Greg looked into his mother's loving face. "Tomorrow when I go to school, I'm going to hold my head up and greet everyone with a smile and be proud that I am a Christian." Greg's mother was about to respond when someone knocked on the kitchen door. There, standing outside of the house, were Paul, Andy, and Kimberly. They had come to apologize to Greg and to ask his forgiveness for not behaving like his friends. "Come on in!" Greg's mother called. "As soon as I finish icing the cake, I'll get my Bible out and read you the story of Job. Actually Job is the name of a book in the Bible between the books of Esther and Psalms." * * * THINK! 1. What kind of a man was Job? 2. What had he done wrong? 3. Name at least two things that happened to Job? 4. Who told Job to curse God? 5. Did Job become mad at God? 6. Does the story of Job end with a happy or sad ending? 7. In what special ways did God bless Job in the end? REMEMBER! Sometimes it may seem like everything is going wrong and God has left you. Go to a quiet place and read the story of Job. Remember God genuinely loves you. He will take care of you and help you through your problem. Remain faithful, ask God to keep you from temptation and sin and never blame Him foolishly. A VERSE TO LEARN "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). PRACTICAL APPLICATION Can you remember a time when something very bad happened to you? How did you feel? Were you angry at God or did you see it as a chance to get to know Him better? As you remember today's story of Job, think of how you could respond the next time a bad thing happens to you. Do you know someone else who is hurting right now? In what ways could you help them so that they could know that you and God care? Let's stop and think for a moment of how we could respond in a way that honors God and blesses others. [After discussion:] We honor God by giving Him thanks, no matter what happens to us. We bless others who are hurting by showing them kindness and letting them know we care. Others are watching how we respond to problems in our lives and in the lives of others. God sees when we take time to show someone we love them and let them know we are praying for them. God is pleased when we show kindness to others. This is a way our lives can bring glory to God and show Him honor. We're going to take time now to thank God for his love for us and ask Him to use us and teach us to respond in a way that honors Him and blesses others. LET'S PRAY **************************************************** Dear God, I am so thankful that You love and care for me. Thank You for helping me through every problem and trial. Please help me to be faithful to you, no matter what comes my way. In Jesus' Name. Amen. **************************************************** CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE? Job 1:1-22; 2:7-10; 42:7-17 Pictures Courtesy of Free Bible Images ----------------------------------------------------------------- BIBLE STORY ARCHIVE http://childrenschapel.org/bibstory2.html REPORT A BROKEN LINK The Children's Chapel award-winning site, featuring Bible stories from a variety of authors, excellent Christian resources for children, and over 140 links to other Christian and family-friendly sites for kids ----------------------------------------------------------------- Free Bible Stories! To receive a new Bible story each week, enter your e-mail address under "Subscribe..." at tscpulpitseries.cis.to/mailman/listinfo/stories You will be sent a message requesting confirmation of your subscription request. IMPORTANT! 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