Servant Hood
"Then the Lord asked Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the
finest man in all the Earth-a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will
have nothing to do with evil."
Job 1:8
I know most of you have heard the story of Job and devotionals about him time and time again. I know I have. However, there is something about this verse that causes me to sit, pause for a moment, and think about my life every time I read it or hear about it. This line, "Have you noticed my servant Job?" is extremely powerful.
Our wonderful God is asking the king of evil, the sin incarnate, Satan himself, if he has noticed this one human being. Out of the millions of people on Earth at the time, God picks out Job, and calls him by his NAME and asks Satan if he has noticed the servant hood of this one man. That is a very worthy honor if you ask me. Job was a man as real as any man who walks this Earth today. His problems were also just as real as any man's problems today. I would even make the assumption that his problems were just a little worse than many individuals today who consider life to be going down the drain. Job's oxen and donkeys were stolen and all of his farmhands were killed (1:14-15), all of his sheep and shepherds burned to death (1:16), his camels were stolen and his servants were killed (1:17), and all of his children were killed when the house they were in collapsed (1:18-19). All of these things also happened in a single day. Job pursued through all of this...and praised continuously (1:21-22). So Satan struck Job with boils from head to foot (2:7).
Yet Job praised God time and time again. That's servant hood if you ask me. I'm sure Job would have loved the new testament scripture from James, "Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything." (James 1:2-4) Once again, I know you've all heard the story of Job over and over.
But let me make a challenge to you today. Ask yourself this : can I put my name in place of Job's? Can God say to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Jack?" "Have you noticed my servant ______?" What are you doing for the kingdom of Heaven that God notices? What actions do you take part in doing that give God the freedom to brag about you to Satan? Challenge yourself this week, put your name in place of Job's.
Inside-Out Youth Ministries
His humble servant,
Jack Williams