August 11, 2021
Dearly Beloved, I greet and bless you in the name of our Creator, Maker, and ever unforgettable Lord Jesus Christ. The blessed word that the Lord has given for you today is from the book of Zechariah 9:12,”Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope. Even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.”
From the above context we learn that if you return to the Lord even during times of trials and affliction, instead of backsliding, God will change the situation, for your own good and help you to receive a double portion of blessing. God promises to bless you with a double portion of blessing today itself and he will not postpone it for tomorrow. God loves you and cares for you. He will give you a double portion of blessing. The Bible says, Job prayed for his friends and so the Lord heard his prayer and blessed the latter part of his life. God blessed Job and the Lord restored his fortunes, and gave him twice as much as he had before. The Lord restored double, of what he initially had. Just as God blessed Job he wants to bless you also as He is not a God of partiality. God knows that every good gift and perfect comes from above, and comes down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shadow of turning.
The first part of Job’s life was tremendous. The Bible tells that the friendly counsel of God was over his tent. The Almighty God was with him. When the Almighty was yet with me, When my children were around me; When my steps were bathed with cream, And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me! This describes the wealth and the sophisticated life that Job lived in the past days. The oil from heaven came down like a river of blessing upon him. His children used to sit around him. His servants respected him. They would bow before him. Job was so wealthy that he bathed in ghee. It was a costly affair. But when he was going through troubles he was disrespected by his servants. His friends made fun of him. They thought he must have made some secret sins before God. And therefore He was being punished by God. Though he was a righteous man before God, testing came to ruin his life. Problems came, he had trials, unbearable. His pain was beyond expression. His body was filled with boils. He had lost his ten beautiful children and all his wealth and cattle. Yet he did not sin by his lips. Neither did he black slide or curse God or blame Him for all the afflictions he was going through.
Even his wife was very unhappy about Job. She said. “Do you still hold to your integrity? Curse God and die.”But job said to her, You speak as one of the foolish woman speaks. Shall we indeed accept, good from God, and shall we not, accept adversity. In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”If Job had back slidden like his wife he would not have been blessed with a double portion of blessing. Therefore children of God, in case you have lost hope in God, or you have backslidden from God, it is high time you return back to God. Ask God for His forgiveness. Then God will bless you. When God permits certain trials, never talk ill about God. This is how he was able to console his wife who had lost all her children. She too was going through depression but she lost her faith in God. The Lord is saying, may be you too like Job may be going through some kind of affliction, but you must always remember that good days are ahead of you. After all the bad days are gone, good days will surely come to those of you who are reading this message, and who patiently endure troubles without murmuring. So endure trials patiently. The trials that you are going through are permitted to you by God, so that you will draw near to God. And those trials are never to destroy you because God does not want anyone to perish but that all should be saved.
Some of you are saying God did not give me a job then why should I go to church. God has not done any good thing for me, then why should I go to church or read the Bible or even pray to God. Doesn’t God know my problems? I tell you God has kept you alive isn’t that a great blessing. Today there is no guarantee for someone, who goes outside that he will return safely, such is the time we are going through. Many parents are worried over such children who are back slidden and refuse to go to church or enjoy spiritual fellowship with God. Such children are a burden to parents. They provoke their parents for no reason. They should learn to wait at the feet of the lord, for the appointed time. Turn from their wicked ways and return back to God. Rather than make vain arguments, and provoke God Himself by their foolish remarks about God. May the Lord be merciful to such people and help them to humble themselves before God. Never go to church to gain some benefit from God, rather go to worship the Lord. God knows when He should bless you. God will never leave you as orphans. The Lord who feeds the ravens will also feed you and satisfy your longing souls. Honour the Lord for Who He is and glorify his name. Magnify his name, and then the Lord will be merciful to you and bless you with a double portion of blessing. God bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Father God, we thank you for telling us to bear our afflictions patiently. Teach us never to grumble or provoke God, when we go through trials. Give us the strength to endure our sufferings. We need your blessings. Without You we cannot do anything. Help us with double portion of blessing that we may do well in our life.
In Jesus Name We Pray.
Amen.
