Fearing God is quite simply, taking him seriously in our lives and giving him the unrivaled place of honor that belongs to him alone.

Most of us go through life and expect life to be all full of joy. When life starts to be not so joyful is when we get scared. We get scared that we've done something wrong. When many times it is just the contrary. God allows us to go through suffering not because we've sinned, not because he's trying to punish us. When actually it's quite the contrary. God allows the righteous to go through suffering because of what we're doing right.

"In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job.

This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and

shunned evil."

Job 1:1

"Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. 'Does Job fear God for nothing?' Satan replied. 'Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.' The Lord said to Satan, 'Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.' Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord

Job 1:8-12

Job was the most faithful man who lived during his time. He was blameless and upright. That does not mean he was sinless, it means he could not be charged with moral failure. He was not only godly but he was also a wealthy businessman. God gave Satan permission to take away EVERYTHING Job had, but told Satan not to lay a finger on Job himself. Job lost his 10 children, his cattle, his servants...EVERYTHING. But he didn't curse God, instead he continued to praise God. Questions raised in Job's tragic journey are Why do the righteous suffer? Where is God when tragedy strikes? If God is all loving, how can he allow human suffering? Does he not care? Is God worthy of worship in tough times? Or must he buy worshippers with blessings?

How many times have we ourselves asked those questions about trials and tribulations that we go through? We have a bad day and we think God doesn't love us. Job's friends Bildad, Zophar, and Eliphaz tried to help. But they turned out to be more of a burden than of help. They condemned him, and thought he must have sinned for him to suffer so much. Also, not only did his three "friends" condemn him but God remained silent throughout his nightmare. Job never understood why he was suffering. There were no explanations from God, no behind the scene reports. In the absence of any God given insights, Job's faith was stretched to the very limits. He was forced to simply trust God. In the emptiness of his soul, not knowing why he was suffering so much, Job arrived at a place where all he could do was to cling to God. With no explanations and no relief visible, he was put in the difficult position to rest in divine mystery.

How many of you can say that is how you react to suffering? Probably not many. Instead of clinging to God, we fear that because God is silent that he has left us. We fear he has moved, or that he doesn't love us anymore, or that he doesn't want us to be happy. But that's not true at all. God never leaves us! In his eyes, no matter what we do, he will always love us. He most definitely wants us to be happy. But he also wants us to focus our eyes on him. He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to cling to Him! We give God honor when we wait patiently on him as we endure suffering. Being patient however is never easy! But, God doesn't want it to be easy. God doesn't want us to get comfortable! Because when we get comfortable, than we take life for granted, we take people for granted, and worse of all we take God for granted. A person of great faith will suffer by divine appointment for the sake of righteousness. When God brings suffering your way I challenge you to respond as Job did. I challenge yout not to run from God in moments of silence, but run to him. I hope you will respond with true faith in God, believing that he rules over all things according to his own perfect will. Only he knows what each day will bring. He knows how we will react before we even go to bed the previous day. I also challenge you to ask yourself these 5 questions...

1. Am I blameless in both my actions and words?
2. Do I recognize and submit to God's sovereign rule over my life?
3. Do I own my possessions or do my possessions own me?
4. Do I immediately turn to God when tragedy strikes?
5. Do I praise God even in the fiery trials of life?