Does God Punish His Children

"Listen to me, you with understanding. Surely everyone knows that God doesn't sin! Rather, he punishes the sinners. There is no truer statement than this: God is never wicked or unjust." Job 34:10-12 The Living Bible

Good Morning Girlfriends:

Many of us can relate to Job's life, and all that he endured. It is written, that Job was a good man who feared the Lord and stayed away from evil. One day when the angels came before the Lord, Satan, the accuser, came with them. They had a discussion about how God had a hedge of protection around Job and his family, as well as his property and everything that he owned. God was bragging on his servant Job, that he was the finest man in all the earth, he feared God and would have nothing to do with evil. Satan's comeback was, "Why wouldn't he, you look after him so well, You protect him and everything he owns, but take away his wealth and he will curse you."

When God allowed Satan to move upon his servant Job, one by one things began to change for Job from the loss of his entire family, sons and daughters, the loss of all his farm animals. Then Satan struck Job with horrible boils all over his body, as Job's wife watched him still being faithful to God, she replied to Job, "To curse God and die." Everything had been taken away from Job, and God knowing him the way that He did, knew that he was a strong and faithful servant for God Almighty.

Job did go through a period in time, when he talked to God, he questioned God, he was angry for what was happening, he couldn't understand why it happened, this was a low and dark place in Job's life for a period of time. He tried to rationalize whether it had been one of his children who had sinned against God, had something happened that he wasn't aware of, many thoughts and questions were going through his mind, trying to make sense of it all. His so called friends tried to bring to his attention that everything the wicked people touched, turned to gold, and in Job's defense, he let them know that he had nothing to do with such people.

We know at the end of all of Job's sufferings, that he continued to serve, worship and praise God for His goodness, Job knew that God was never wicked or unjust, but in fact that God was a just God. Job 34:21 tells us that God carefully watches the goings on of all mankind, He sees them all, God sees everything that each and everyone of us do. You see girlfriends, we who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and are living a life for Him are called His children, and those who are not serving the Lord are recognized as sinners. God is like how our earthly father would be, if we do something wrong, he disciplines and guides to correction, God does not cause bad things to come on us. God knows who His children are, He knows our hearts, He knows how faithful we are to Him. There are times that He may allow things to happen in our lives, as a test so to say, to see of our true faithfulness to Him, and to see will we stand on His word, we will continue to praise and worship Him through whatever storm we face.

Job 36: 11 says, that if we listen and obey God, we will be blessed and live a prosperous life. There are some children that parents try to guide, direct and discipline as they are being raised and they will listen and learn as they are corrected. There are some that do not want to be corrected, they want to go on living their life and doing what they want to, even when it is a corruptible life. God is our heavenly father, and He sees everything that goes on, so if we are doing something that we shouldn't be, it will be brought to our attention and we are to turn from it. If we do not turn from it, of course there will be a consequence for it, just like any good parent would do. God gives us chance after chance to get things right and corrected in our lives.

It is the godless, who refuses and doesn't want anything to do with God at all, they are the ones that will reap God's anger, they are the ones that will be punished, but not God's children who live for Him. (Job 36:11-15)

So girlfriends, if you can relate to Job in any way, through all of your trials, your tests, your storms, and you can say that you have never stopped being faithful to God, you have never stopped thanking and praising Him for who He is and His goodness, then you too will reap as Job did at the end of his story, God gave Him back double blessings for everything that was done to him, double blessings in his finances, his children, his job, his health because he did not give in to satan and curse God, he did not sin. I can relate to Job and testify in the same way, that no matter what I have faced in my life, since serving God, I still am faithful and loving towards my God. No matter what we face in life, does not change who God is, He is always good, but it is us who changes because of God, for the good, Amen?

Let's Pray,

Father God, You are an amazing, wonderful, loving and faithful God, You do not change. Lord, You see each one of our hearts today, and You already know who Your children are and whether we will be faithful to You as You are to us, when we face a storm or situation in our life. Lord, it is Your strength that we draw from You that enables us to endure situations that come our way. Lord, I thank You that even when there are times we may wine, sniffle or complain, You are always faithful to understand our pain, and You do not hold that against us. You are so good to us Lord, and I praise You for who You truly are. You are awesome, You are loving, kind and gentle, You are faithful and I praise You in Jesus name, Amen.

Be blessed and pass the blessings on as you pass this message on to those who may need to hear it, with many thanks.