When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!
Job 42:10
More than Before
If you know the story of Job, then you know that the first part of his story is devastating. Job was a righteous man, so when the devil spoke to the Lord about how he had been patrolling the earth, God asked if he had noticed his servant Job, almost as if He was offering Job up. The accuser, the devil, tells God that He has always protected him, and thus the testing begins. God allows the devil to test Job’s faith and in the process Job loses his livelihood, his family, and even his health. Job’s friends come and try to suggest reasons why Job is going through these test (all of which are wrong) and become discouraging to him rather than lifting him up. However, the way Job reacts to all of it shows his true character. He PRAISES the Lord through it all and even PRAYS for His friends! It is because of this why the Lord not only restores his fortunes, but gives him twice as much as before!
In this life we will go through many tests and trials. Sometimes the Lord even allows these to happen to grow our faith. We choose how we allow these trials to affect us: we can either choose to grow in our relationship with the Lord, or we can run from Him and ultimately end up worse than before. So are you running from the Lord or into His arms?
A Prayer to Remember
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the tests and trials in my life. I know just like Job, you have given them to me so I might grow in my faith. Help me grow closer to you every single day. Amen