A couple of times I have mentioned the name of Joe Bayly, a Christian leader of the 20th century. He and his wife lost three sons, one at 18 days, another at 5 years and the third in a sledding accident.

Bayly has written several books that emerged from the unimaginable suffering he and his wife endured from such trauma as planning the funerals of your own children.

Job, the writer of our verse today, had a similar experience to the Baylys when he suddenly lost all of his children at one time. But then he lost his wealth, his health, the comfort and support of his wife, he was falsely accused by his wicked “comforters”, and finally he lost the felt sense of God’s presence.

The poor man was totally destitute without comfort or expressed love of any kind from anyone. It was in the context of all this that he uttered the words of our text. While Job reeled from one catastrophe to another he knew that his salvation was from the God Who had allowed all of his grief and now seemed so distant from him.

Have you come to a place like Job’s? Are you without any hope of relief from your many problems? Does life not make sense to you regardless of where you turn? Do you feel that the Lord has left you? Now you need to say what Job did, “Although the Lord slays me, I will trust in Him.”

As worthless as such an action seems, as hopeless as your circumstances appear, trust the Lord in spite of your broken dreams, your shattered ambitions and go on as though it all makes sense when nothing does.

We know the end of Job’s story. Job 42:12 reads, “So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning…”.

In his lifetime on earth Job was more blessed after his trials than before. In this life you may not receive earthly blessings but, as a follower of the Lord Jesus you are guaranteed blessings beyond measure in the life to come. Your story has the most wonderful future and you need to look beyond the present to eternity and then everything will make sense.

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NASB) calls on us to,

“…run with endurance the race that is set before us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,
who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself,
so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”