Job is the ultimate comeback kid.

I’m serious. Think about it.

In Job chapter 1, we learn a lot about this guy:

  • His character is outstanding
  • He doesn’t partake in evil things
  • He is rich in children: seven sons and three daughters
  • He is wealthy in possessions: 7,000 sheep, three thousand camel, five hundred yoke of oxen, 500 donkey, and lots of servants to take care of them all
  • He is a family man. His children are close and all are present at the birthday parties. There are no empty seats where the prodigal brother used to sit.

He was doing so well in life, the Devil wanted to test him.

And God let him.

When the Going Gets Hard

When life gets tough – when you are wracked by grief, when you’re living paycheck to paycheck, when you can’t get rid of that physical ailment or reason with that rebellious teen, it feels like it’s time to quit.

The tough get going, but most just get out of Dodge.

We forget that God is good, and we forget our devotion to Him.

Then we trade it in for the self-medication of depression, bitterness, and doubt.

We succumb to a stressful life, an overwhelmed mentality, a frazzled home.

Job loses his livestock, his servants, and his land.

His 10 children are lost to a great wind. He even gets boils. down

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Job 1:22

You Can Never Have a Comeback if You Quit

Through his affliction, even when he regrets the day he was born, Job never quits.

Job fully feels the pain of what his life has become.

He is not immune to the anguish, and he cannot ignore his feelings by mindlessly scrolling.

He is fully present in the suffering.

But he never quits on God.

Even when he is encouraged to “curse God and die,” Job stays the course.

Instead, he has a conversation with God.

Job comes to a conclusion after this conversation.

No purpose of Yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2

So God had reminded Job that He was in control of his story.

That He had a purpose and a plan for Job that could not be foiled by hard times.

In fact, He uses those times for His good.

God Loves a Comeback Story

The Devil thought maybe Job was so loyal to God just because he was living the good life.

But even in the storms, Job stayed committed. He never quit.

God rewarded Job’s endurance in faith, and Job rose again.

In the final chapter of Job, the LORD not only restores his fortunes, but increases them. So Job ends up with:

  • 14,000 sheep
  • 6,000 camels
  • 1,000 oxen
  • 1,000 female donkeys
  • 7 sons and 3 daughters

Job lived 140 more years and saw four generations!

God can redeem your story, as long as you don’t quit.

Failure isn’t fatal.

The end of that job, the prodigal you’re waiting on to return home, the illness that has plagued you, the marriage that has seen better days.

God is with you in your situation, and He will use it for your good.

Don’t quit on God. He never quits on you.

God loves a comeback.