xmlns:og='http://ogp.me/ns#'> Grace 4 Me & U: Becoming a thankful Job; when things are falling apart

11.13.2015

Becoming a thankful Job; when things are falling apart


It is November. The thankful month, but what if you have nothing to thank God for?
Praising God when things are falling apart. Remembering that praising God through the difficult stuff is a way of life.
My falling apart
My life feels like it has been in shambles the last few years. We moved out of the house I had lived in throughout high school. We moved to an awesome house in the middle of nowhere. Then we found out that the house didn't have a septic tank and everything was backing up. Luckily we were only renting, but that meant we had to move right back out. 
With nowhere to go we spent a week at my grandma's house, while we looked for a new place to live. My mom found an apartment, but my sister and I couldn't move in with them. Which is fine in the fact that we are adults, with good jobs, but sad in the fact that we still would had nowhere to go.
Job's life falling apart
This stories reminds me of Job from the Bible. Job was blessed, he had great wealth, a large family, and literally God's blessing.
Becoming a thankful Job: when things are falling apart.One day the angels and Satan came before God. God and Satan had an exchange. This led to Satan being allowed to take everything from Job except his body and health.
Wealth gone. Family, gone, except his wife. Servants, mostly gone, except the few who brought word of these trials. 
Do you know what Job did? 
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. - Job 1:20-22

May the Name of the Lord be praised! What great faith. 

A Christians fight mode should start with praise and prayer.

What a great example. I wish I could tell you that I was as good of an example through my trials. But I didn't even come close.
Falling into Place
My parents took that apartment. The landlord had an apartment across the hall for rent. So we stayed with my parents for a month, while he finished getting the apartment ready. 

That was the beginning. I know that what I felt was horrible at the time, moved me closer to where God wants me. My trials are far from over, but lucky for me I am learning to Praise God throughout. It isn't easy, I fail at it all the time, especially when I don't see God moving on my timetable.

God's timing is never our own, and his plan isn't always what we want. Even Jesus dealt with this.
Have you come through great trials and testings? I would love to hear about how God used those moments to help you grow. If he blessed you even more afterward, I would love to hear that as well. Maybe it will help my faith grow.

If you are looking for what to praise God for, check out my post from last week
This post was linked up @ ”A

8 comments:

  1. No, He never does seem to move on our timetable, Ona! His ways are not our ways, and I wish I could say I always reacted well to trials but I sometimes fail as well. But God is always faithful, no matter whether there seems to be rhyme or reason or not! Thanks for sharing your housing experience, moves like that can really shake a family up. I know that first hand too, girl!

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    1. Yes, a move like that can shake up a family. I am very thankful that through it all we have stayed close, both emotionally and physically, being in the same apartment building. Got to remember to trust that God has this. Thanks for the encouragement, Ruthie.

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  2. Ruthie, My Dad died suddenly in June. We had to call Hospice in 2 weeks ago, after Mom being completely healthy for her entire life. Just a few months left. My sister has MS. I have extremely painful large scars from my 2 bout of Necrotizing Fasciitis. I have been feeling a HUGE range of emotions. Rage, Sadness, Guilt, Hopeless...and so many others.

    Thank you for you timely post. I thought That your blog would not really apply to me (I am not a Mother). But I occasionally read it to share with my sisters and sister-in-law. It is almost as if God intended for me to read your past two entries., funny how that works. Almost like he is control, huh?

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    1. God is very much in control, he puts things in our paths as we need them. I will be praying for you and your family. May God send his comfort and peace to you.

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  3. Ona, this is beautiful & so needed this time of year. Even when we don't feel like there are things to be thankful for, God is always present & always provides. This means we should constantly praise Him! I would love for you to link this post or others with us at the 100 Happy Days linkup party. Here is the link if you are interested. http://lifeofscoop.com/moments-100-happy-days-linkup-week-5/
    I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! :)

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    1. You are so right, just because we follow God doesn't mean things will always be great, but He deserves our praise, and looking at the positive helps us also.

      Thanks for the idea Alison. I just linked my post. I look forward to meeting new people.

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  4. Hi Ona,
    I was so happy to see that you posted at #100HappyDays! Thank you for sharing your heart. You are spreading hope to others. I'm glad to know you!

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    1. Valerie, thanks for the encouragement. I'm glad I was able to join the linkup.

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