Read Job 42:1–17
If you return to Job 1:3, you can read what Job originally owned. He had 7,000 sheep, and he winds up with 14,000. So, his flocks grow as he feeds them and breeds them. Their numbers increase to twice the original flock. There’s plenty to eat. And there’s also plenty of land to graze, so the sheep grow in number to 14,000.
He must have been able to see from every window of his home luscious, green, and colourful plants and the growth of all his crops. He’s even got 1,000 female donkeys. So, the man has twice as much as he had before. Not instantaneously, but over the passing of a few years, his possessions grew. Candidly, Job had more than enough. Much more. He was rich before; now he is enormously wealthy!
There are times when the Lord chooses to bless certain individuals with much more than is enough. What we must learn is to let it be. If envy is your besetting sin, I urge you to break yourself from one of the ugliest habits among Christian people! I’ll be completely honest with you; I hear it frequently. The great temptation is to remind the Lord of how faithful you have been when you see a neighbour or a friend whose business grows when yours doesn’t. Please stop trying to outguess the Lord in such matters.
It is both unfair and inaccurate to assume that most wealthy individuals have not earned their riches or did not receive them from the hand of God. Some of God’s dearest saints are eminently wealthy. So? I say again—let it be. If you are one of them, you hardly need the reminder that you didn’t create it yourself. It came because of His grace. Use it appropriately. Give generously. Walk in humility. And if He chooses not to bless you as He has blessed another, respect and appreciate His choice rather than resent it. Let’s applaud Job for being a recipient of God’s prosperous favour. He has “come forth as gold,” having been tested and found faithful.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice!”
Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing.
