Keep Praying and Hoping

The Holy Bible is filled with stories of hope and

redemption. I like the story of Job. Here was a

man who had everything you could ask for.

Prosperous and well-liked, faithful to God,

family and friends. Owned a lot of property and

livestock, and was happy—who wouldn’t be.

One day Job lost everything, became very ill,

and to make things worse, his friends

abandoned him. They wanted him to curse God

and end his suffering—not the kind of friends we

need, anyway. We need friends who encourage

us when we are down, and everyone gets down

at one time or another, don’t they?

Job didn’t cave in; he kept on praying and

hoping things would turn around. And because

he never lost hope, things did turn around. God

not only returned all he had lost, he gave him

lots more than he had before. That is our loving

and merciful God. 

(from the book These Three Remain by Gene Allen Groner, available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B077YTVSJZ      geneallengroner@gmail.com ).