Sinking Deep

my heart is beaming with thankfulness.

last night at ocf, we had the second and final part of the annual general meeting. after sarah answered the questions directed to her two weeks ago, where she was not present, joel shared his outgoing devotion as ocf's chairperson in the past year. his sharing moved me deeply, as he delved into sufferings of being a chairperson, and the joys that God brought out of those sufferings. it is such an amazing thing to see God working so vividly in the the life of someone else. all glory to Him. he mentioned david and i as bible study group leaders, and that he was encouraged by how we focus on fellowship in ocf, and not just on studying the bible. for that i am thankful, that ocf has become a little more of what its name suggests - 'fellowship'.

this morning's devotion is also so, so praise-worthy. i looked at the book at Job and was reminded of how God is sovereign over satan, in that satan needs the permission from God to test us. this means that the trials we face are those that God has allowed to us. i was also encouraged by Job's responses in both instances where he was being tested. the blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil, holds fast his integrity, despite satan's tests. Job remained faithful even though he was put through difficult trials. 'shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?' this was a good reminder for me, to accept both good things and adversity from God - for only through these trials can my faith be strengthened.

Lord, help me to be like Job - to remain faithful to you when faced with trials, and to be the blameless and upright (wo)man fearing God and turning away from evil, holding fast my integrity.