“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:
for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Matthew 5:45~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last year the Lord greatly blessed me in many, many areas. I had great peace about what my purpose was and who I was meant to be. Things were happening that I never could have imagined or asked for. It was one of the best years of my life.

This year, though has been a rather hard year. Last week was one of the hardest weeks I’ve ever faced. This year I’ve felt like I have unfairly been losing people I love. I also have been facing some really tough challenges. These different “rough” spots have really been taking a toll on me. Last week I really began to question the purpose of all these things. I just didn’t understand why they had to come into my life and change everything.

I ashamedly admit that last week I was even a little upset with God. I wanted Him to change everything back to the way it had been. In these different trials, I was not responding with joy and acceptance. No! Joy and acceptance were the farthest thing from what my heart held. The feelings of an immature child wanting its way were much closer to my feelings.

Tuesday morning the Lord convicted me and showed me the error of my ways, though. I had just finished reading the book of Ruth, and I was trying to decide on a new topic or book for my devotions. Over and over again I flipped to Job. Finally, I decided that I should read through Job.

Almost as soon as I began reading, the conviction of the Lord came upon me. I realized that after all that Job lost he still said that he’d been blessed. He simply stated that, “….the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;” Job also blessed the Lord’s name.

I bowed my head in shame. Had I been thanking the Lord for what He had given me and the time I’d had with the people I love? No. I most certainly had not. My trials paled in comparison to Job’s completely life altering trials. He lost absolutely everything, yet, he still could say that the Lord was good.

I still do not understand the reasons behind these “rough” spots in my life, but I know that the Lord will help me through it and that He does have a reason for all these things. I know too that eventually, after the rains have passed, the sun will once again come out. I also now see that even in the rain there are blessings, if I look for them instead of only seeing my problems.

Are you going through a “rough” spot? Maybe you are going through a devastating time like Job, and you feel as though you will never be the same again. No matter what trial you are going through, the Lord truly is near. The Lord does have a purpose for this time in your life. You may not see it now, but later you will.

To add a conclusion to Job’s life, the Lord did later show Job that He had been present all the time and there had been a reason. The Lord also blessed Job with many times more than what he had originally lost. The Lord truly is a great and wonderful God and heavenly Father.