The Old Testament Book of Job is known because of the tribulations that Job experienced. Many people have speculated about why he endured such troubles, but it is Job, himself, who gives us our most revealing detail. Regarding all that he experienced during the tribulation period of his life, Job said in Job 3:25(NKJV), “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me.” Job had many children and great wealth, and while he was an upstanding man in the community and did right by those that knew him, the fear in his heart impeded his relationship with God. It interfered to such an extent that instead of worshiping God because of who God is, Job worshiped Heavenly Father because of all the blessings he had received. This is a dangerous course, and we should do our very best in life to never travel down that road.
There are some people who see God in a certain way, and their perception of who He is does not match what His Word says about Him. Even so, these individuals will not budge when it comes to what they think. They don’t realize how much this hurts them. It keeps their blessings at bay, it causes them to remain blind to how the devil is tricking them, and most importantly, it injures their relationship with Heavenly Father. Our inflexibility or refusal to learn the truth about God spills over into all the other aspects of our lives. This inflexibility and stubbornness is an internal stiffness towards our Creator that sometimes comes off as pious and sincere, but it’s deadly. When it is entrenched or dug-in, it takes a punishing blow to unwedge it.
Job’s fear was like this. He had not taken his relationship with God beyond the benefits he could receive, but God did not punish him because of this. We must never think that. God doesn’t punish us, He corrects us. With correction, repentance, restoration, and pleasing God on our hearts and minds, we can learn much from the record of Job’s correction. One aspect of it that should speak to us loudest is the devastation that fear can cause. Fear does not come from God. It comes from the devil. Therefore, wherever fear is present, the enemy will look for the opening it provides and use it to cause destruction. This is what happened to Job.
The truth is that some of us have behaviors, attitudes, and thoughts that keep us bound to fear and doubt, but we can come out of these just as Abraham and Sarah did. Like them, we can learn to walk in faith and witness extraordinary blessings. Our Heavenly Father made a covenant with Abraham, and He helped both him and his wife, Sarah, so that their faith grew to a place where their minds and hearts were fully persuaded in God. Make no mistake, Abraham and Sarah were not perfect. They had to renew their minds and deal with some of their wrong beliefs. Their fear blocked the fruition of the promise, so they had to get their thoughts and believing in line with God’s Word before the promise of their first son, Issac, could manifest.
Genesis 20:2(NLT) tells us, “Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.” Abraham and Sarah concocted a plan to lie about them being man and wife. Abraham told her to do this because he feared powerful men would be so captivated by Sarah’s beauty that they would kill him so they could marry her. Looking at this logically, we can see how this wrong believing stifled their faith. Sarah was 90 years old, yet the promise of God was that she would bear Abraham’s son, Isaac. If she and Abraham would not believe God to protect and cover them both without lying, how could they believe God to give birth at an age way passed child-bearing years? They had to get their minds and hearts on track with God’s Word. They had to understand who He is, and they had to be fully persuaded that He is willing and able to do what He says He will do. When the fear was removed the promise manifested.
Our wrong beliefs and fears keep us from seeing who God really is. They keep us from learning more about Christ and seeing other sides of his love. We should never assume that we know all that we should or could know, and we must recognize that God desires to show us so much more. If we lived ten thousand lifetimes, even then we could not exhaust the knowledge of all that He is, not even a tiny fraction’s worth. We can never get to the end of His love; it is unlimited and never ending. This is the God we call our Heavenly Father, and He commands us to trust in His power, love, and grace continually.
God tells us in Hebrew 11:6 that without faith, we cannot please Him. We must believe that He is a Rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. So, when you are faced with a troubling situation that persists, consider that your fear, doubt, or lack of knowledge about God may be blocking you from the blessings He desires to give you. Instead of continuing to doubt, seek God for His leadership and guidance, so you can release the fear and unblock what’s yours.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Identifying the Blessing Blocker” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!