Job 42:10  And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

For anyone who remembers the Story of Job, a man who loved God and trusted him greatly was known by God.  Yet, in less than a few days Job, lost all his children, his many possessions, and even his health.  He went from the ultimate high to the lowest of lows in an instant.  While there is so much more in Job’s story, I cannot help but call out this verse in chapter 42.  We see here that God restored everything that Job lost and more, he then blessed him with double the amount he had before.

WHY????  Why was Job so blessed originally?  Why was everything taken away? Why did God then give him double?  Why????

God Loves Job, his love for Job is no more or less than the Love God has for each one of us.  He loved Job and Job received that love as he feared God (Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil).  God loves to bless His children and He wants to do it big.  

Satan is very jealous of the way that God loves us and truly believed that if God took away all the blessings that like every man, Job would turn his back on God.  Satan went on to say; “vs 10 Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”  Ultimately, God allowed Satan to attack Job and put the devil to the test.  

So, we know why Job was blessed and why he was attacked; but let’s focus on what it was that changed Job’s circumstances.  Prayer, the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends.  There were a couple of things that jumped out about this one verse, that I wanted to share with you today.

1.    What We Focus On:  If we can take our focus off our problems, circumstances, desires, and needs and focus on the needs of others; we leave a door open for God to bless us beyond our wildest dreams.  What it takes to focus on others when you are going through a struggle requires great selflessness. However, when you’re able to ask for God to help someone else you’re also able to see him moving on your behalf. Jesus was able to pray for all of His disciples, all of His followers, and each one of us that would one day become followers (John 17); all while knowing that He was about to go to the Cross.

2.    What We Look Beyond: Here’s something else I noticed; “he prayed for his friends” but in this book of Job we have to remember that these we’re friends that Job felt had betrayed him; thought poorly of him; humiliated him; they really hurt him and they did it thinking they were doing it for his good.  Are we able to pray for those “friends” that have failed us or turned their backs on us or like Jobs’s friends have judged us for something we’ve shared with them in confidence? This takes humility; to forgive the wrong of others and be willing to not hold against them their faults. Jesus was on the cross and if you’ll recall, He prayed for those who were crucifying Him (Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”) 

Job helps us to see just how we can shift our actions and become a KEY to changing our situation.  When it seems like everything is against us, we can remember that Jesus is always for us and as a matter of fact He’s already prayed for us that we might make it THRU our current circumstance.  Trust Him and His prayers to become yours as we lift up the needs of others, then we’ll see the CHANGE we are believing for.