by Debbie Johnston

As I write, the sun is the color of blood, and the air quality is very poor because of the ashfall from Napa-area fires. There is a subtle feeling of doom in the air.

Disasters continue to plague our world in one way or another, most recently in China and Myanmar. Rising gas and food prices have made many families financially unstable, and home foreclosures have already touched our congregation. You may find yourself facing your own personal crisis of biblical proportions right now. It is times like these Jesus calls us to demonstrate our trust in him despite our circumstances.

In the book of Job we meet a faithful man who has received many blessings from the Lord who suddenly finds himself beset by one disaster after another: the death of his children and livestock, physical illness, torment from his wife and friends. Instead of being a comfort to Job in time of need, they add to his torment by insisting that he must have done something to deserve these disasters. Perhaps this is the situation that gave rise to the saying, "With friends like these, who needs enemies?" J Job has done nothing to deserve any of this, but God has allowed these challenges in Job’s life to test Job’s love for him.

When Job’s wife unhelpfully suggests Job "curse God and die," Job counters with, "Shall we receive the good at the hand of God and not the bad?" In other words, Job is saying, "Who are we to complain? Can we tell God what he may and may not allow in our lives?" Job trusts there is some good purpose God will accomplish through whatever might be happening to him at the time, even if Job doesn’t understand it. This is truly the prayer of faith and a pivotal point in Job’s spiritual life. Job’s faith is about love for God, period,—not simply love for what God can DO FOR HIM.

Job then begins to pray for his tormenting friends. Job knows their perspective is skewed; and he asks God to forgive them, give them clear vision and bless them. There is almost no surer test of our faith then if we are able to pray sincerely for those who have hurt us. This is prayer that always gladdens God’s heart, because we are loving others as God has loved us.

Job’s fortunes were reversed the moment he prayed for his irksome friends. I cannot say our own challenging situations will turn around the moment we pray for those who hurt us, but I can tell you we will always be pleasing to our Lord when we do, and we will be creating the most positive environment possible for the Lord to bring blessings back into our lives. "Thy will be done," and "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," are two prayers that move us toward true Christ-like character and mature Christian faith.