But Job patiently waited on God to reveal Himself and publicly justify Job to the world. Even his wife told him he should curse God and die. Job’s friends accused him of sin and said he was being punished by God for his secret sins. He even acknowledged that God was the one who was testing him and he would continue to worship the Lord. Job still would not speak evil against God. God gave Satan rule over Job’s circumstances causing him to lose all of his wealth. God said that He knew a man who was just and upright in his life. Satan was talking with God one day when he said that no one completely obeyed God and worshiped Him. What he wrote in Psalms about trusting the Lord is applicable to us today.
We enjoy his writings today because he was a man who knew how to lean on the Lord during times of adversity. Yet, David knew that his strength came from God. David wrote many of those precious poems in the midst of trouble. This was not because David never had problems. God knew that though David was young, he would grow up to be a man in tune with God’s heart and plan for Israel.ĭavid wrote many of the Psalms that we cherish. At the time God said this to Saul through Samuel, David was only a boy of 8 to 12 years old. We first learn about who David would become when God rejected Saul’s reign and said that He would give the kingdom to a neighbor of Saul’s who was a better man (I Samuel 15). Multiple times in the Bible David is recognized as a man who followed God and was sensitive to the leadership of God in his life.
He was also known as a strong leader of Israel as they conquered the land that God had given. He waited until it was his time to lead Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua never tried to usurp the authority of Moses. He recognized the authority Moses and his position of leadership that God gave him. The people of Israel refused to enter the land God had given. Though the vast majority of the spies returned with a discouraging report of the land God said He would give them, Joshua and Caleb reported all the wonderful things God could provide in Canaan. Joshua was chosen as one of the 12 spies to enter the land that God had promised to Israel. When Moses led Israel out of Egypt one of the young men who quickly rose to recognition was Joshua. Moses disappointed God with some of his actions but repented of his lack of trust and was used by God to accomplish His purposes. Moses claimed to not be a great speaker yet he was able to lead the Israelites for 40 years out of Egypt and to the edge of the Promised Land.
He probably did not learn much about the God of Israel through his tutors, yet he grew up sensitive to God’s leading. Moses learned from the best Egyptian teachers and scholars. He loved the people of Israel who God called him to lead.Īs a child Moses grew up in the Egyptian Pharaoh’s house even though he was born to a Jewish family. Even though he sometimes failed, Moses was a man consistently in tune with God’s plan. In Moses’ life we remember events showing a godly man and other stories that show a man who struggled with failure in certain areas. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, “I had faith in you but you didn’t save me, you let me drown.The Bible has stories of military heroes, prophets, preachers and kings who have followed God and given us good examples to follow. Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. To this the stranded man again replied, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, “Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety.” To this the stranded man said, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. “The fellow in the motorboat shouted, “Jump in, I can save you.” The stranded fellow shouted back, “No, it’s OK, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me.” Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, “Jump in, I can save you.” A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood.