Picked For Pruning

If we were perfect, we would never have problems, we face imperfect situations not only because we live in an imperfect world, but also because we are imperfect ourselves.

Have we ever stopped to wonder why God pointed Job out to the enemy? Was it to prove to the enemy that there is at least one person whose heart is blameless towards him? I think not! Does the Almighty need validation? *Selah* I assume there might be a few legitimate reasons why Job was pointed out to the devil, but one strikes me most. Let’s back up a bit, yes, God is all-knowing. Being the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, and the First and Last, He knew the outcome of the situation before he permitted the devil to act. He knew the response of the devil before he pointed Job out, He also knew Job’s response to the situation and what He planned for Job at the end. He knew all of these…, did I digress? A bit… the question is since He needs no accolades or validation especially not from the devil, why did He point Job out to the devil, in Job 1: 7-8 we can say that God brought up the topic of Job and pretty much gave the devil work! Why?

Could it be because Job was the perfect imperfect candidate in need of pruning? Ah! Someone might exclaim, did God Himself not say that Job was perfect and blameless? In fact he was described as the most upright man in his time. In ranking, Job was the only number 1 graded by God Himself… so why would you suggest that he was imperfect? Perhaps God just wanted to bless Him more, well true, God might have wanted to add more blessings to Job, but since He blessed him before without giving the devil leeway to “deal” mercilessly with him, couldn’t He have done it again? Unless, there were lessons he needed Job to learn from the ordeal.

According to Isaiah 64:6 …all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags… this tells us that in man’s standard, Job was upright but in God’s standard, he wasn’t quite there yet. Now that we have somewhat established his imperfection, what made him the perfect candidate, what made God very confident in him? God knew He had Job’s heart. He knew that Job loved Him and was totally sold out to Him. He knew that nothing could make Job change his mind about loving Him and that was exactly what made Job the perfect candidate; a heart right with God.

So what needed to be pruned out of Job’s life? I hear someone think… I hope she’s not going to say his children and wealth because God blesses and adds no sorrow right? Accurate! But that’s exactly what He was doing… blessing Job and getting rid of anything that may cause him sorrow. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am in no way saying his children deserved to die, all I am about to point out is that God will do what needs to be done to get you to where He needs you to be for your own good because He is love.

Job needed to be distraction free. The bible lets us know that Job spent time and resources praying for his children and performing purification rites. Intercession is not bad, it is actually pleasing to God, but in this case the act of purification became salvation for his children, and a safe haven for him and them; it removed the need for them to develop and maintain a relationship with God themselves, he always thought that after they had committed all the atrocities, he’d sacrifice some burnt offering to God and that should appease Him. But Is 1:11 explains that God is not excited about our burnt offerings, He is more concerned about the state of our hearts and how we live.

He wanted to instill awareness in Job (to shake him up and have him re focus). Job might have become very comfortable, he had no challenges and he was blessed on every side, perhaps his worship became routine and legalistic. Who knows…If he hadn’t been rudely slapped in his face, he might have strayed.

God wanted to teach him one or two things about Himself; that He is sovereign, He doesn’t need to explain anything to anyone, and He is always just. If Job understood that no injustice can be found in God, he would not have made this statement in Job 13:3 “For I desire to speak to the almighty and argue my case with God”

He wanted to expose Job to himself, to let him know the substance his heart was made of, and who he had given his heart to. He wanted Job to know that Job loved, feared and reverenced Him. He wanted Job to understand that he wasn’t that bad after all; He just needed to be better.

Did Job learn all the lessons? I believe He did… because His later was greater than his former.

Have you been picked out for pruning? You have an advantage over Job, because you have Job’s story and God’s word that says “All things work together for good to them who love God and are called according to His purpose”. Certainly not everyone falls under this category but everyone could. The key phrases here are loves God, and called according to his purpose. Did I hear someone sign and think, but I don’t want to undergo pruning, I’m fine just the way I am. My fellow pruning candidates, we all need to understand that every true child of God needs to undergo pruning to bear much fruit that will remain. Bearing fruits that abide is a necessity for every child of God; if you don’t bear fruits you will be cut off and thrown into the lake of fire. So you see that it’s not that much of a choice if we’d like to continue as children of God. (John 15: 1-8). At the end of your pruning, if you hold on tight, you will get rewarded. You will see that all things indeed work together for your good.