One of the virtues that will eternally and always encourage believers to cling tenaciously to God, even in the face of seeming extreme hopelessness and despair, is his ability to turn the most unpleasant conditions into favorable testimonies. You may have done everything humanly possible to get out of that situation and it was all to no avail. Unfortunately, all you seem to have after all your efforts is: sadness, pain, regret, grief, shame, and tears. And it is as if you are tempted to question the love and even the existence of God. Don’t do it yet. Read this book first. God is still in the business of turning ashes into beauty. This book will bless you!
But all of the above qualifications failed to immunize Job from life’s humiliating “ashes” experiences. You know, sometimes you’ll start to wonder why you should go through all of that. You feel like you don’t deserve it. It may be that you were just making an honest effort to help or even lead a good life yourself, and suddenly a calamity hit you, throwing you into a very dark and painful situation. Whether by mistake or design that led to your current situation, God is still telling you that He will be with you through that situation. And that it will not only rescue you, but it will also honor you. Praise the Lord! There are no better promises than these. Let me put it this way; God is with you in that pain. His powerful hands are already outstretched to rescue you. Also, look at the bright crown (honor) that He saved for you as you are coming out of that painful experience. Your current situation will surely bring honor and glory to God’s name. Just wait!
Yes, even though Job was a righteous man, he lost everything he had in one fell swoop. He lost 500 yoke of oxen, 500 donkeys, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, and his 10 sons at one time. He was subsequently inflicted with terrible boils all over his body. To make matters worse, his beloved wife betrayed him and his friends also accused him of hypocrisy. All of this happened to this man just once. All his wealth, comfort, health, companion, hope, future simply melted in his hands. Look at the way the Bible describes your condition,
“Then Job scratched his skin on a piece of broken pottery while sitting in the ashes. His wife said, ‘Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.’ When they saw Job from afar, they barely they recognized it. ”
Job 2: 8, 9, 12
My God! I just hear you yelling “but mine didn’t make it to that stage!” You’re right. Job correctly said that he was sitting in the ashes. Or where else could it go? He had practically nothing to hold onto except God. Even God seemed very far from him. True. Naturally, anyone who is going through that could have questioned the love and existence of the so-called God. This was a man recognized as good, just and godly. Even some translations of the Bible called him a perfect man. So where was God when all these calamities happened to His faithful servant? Why did God allow the devil to do such a cleaning job for him? And the devil planned it in such a way that Job could be overwhelmed by the rapid succession and complication of calamities. I wanted Job to denounce God by all means, but Job held on! Yes, he managed to hold on. Jesus! In fact, in Job 14:14, he said:
“This thought would give me hope, and through my struggle I would eagerly await deliverance (every day of my appointed time I will wait, until my change comes, KJV)”
Yes, my change will come! You can get this book in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese and other languages https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/beauty-for-ashes-50
