I really wish that my life would go better. I wish I had a better job, I wish my car would run better, I wish my family would be healthier, I wish I could leap tall buildings with a single bound, I wish, I wish, I wish! We certainly wish for a lot of things, but do we ever wish we could know God better, and have a stronger relationship with Him? As humans, we do spend a lot of time thinking about ourselves and our own desires, but do we spend much time thinking and dwelling upon what God desires?

God certainly spends a lot of time thinking about us and dwelling upon our needs. In the book of Job, chapter 7, Job thinks that God is paying a little too much attention to him because God has let Satan test Job by taking everything he has, both wealth and family. In Job 7:16-19, Job says to God, “16 I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning. 17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, 18 that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? 19 Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant?” But through it all, Job never failed in his faith to the Lord.

One great thing that Job did was that he spent time in counsel with the Lord, didn’t always understand or agree with God, but he stayed in touch with God through all of his trials! At the end of the book of Job, Job declares that in his counsel with the Lord, that he spoke of things he did not understand and things too wonderful for him to know. Job goes on in Job 42:5 to say, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” Because of Job’s faithfulness and receiving counsel from the Lord, God blesses him even more than before.

Church, if we want to be blessed by the Lord, we must be in counsel with the Lord every day, especially when we feel we are being tested! Trust me, God never tempts us, but he does test us in order to make us stronger! If we will concentrate on having a stronger relationship with the Lord, He will take care of us in our jobs, our families, and in all our material needs! We must be reading and studying the word and talking with our God in prayer constantly because this is how we are in counsel with the Lord today! Psalm 1:1-3 says, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.”

I am not preaching a prosperity gospel, but blessings come in all shapes and sizes that benefit our lives in wonderful ways that we will see and that strengthen our faith! Let the reader be encouraged to be in counsel with the Lord every day.

If you have a question about God’s Word, God Himself, or of a Christian spiritual nature, please send it to me at [email protected] and I will do my best, using scripture, to get you an answer.

We invite you to join us at College Hill Church of Christ, 1102 College Blvd., every Sunday morning at 10:30am for worship or follow us on Facebook at College Hill Church of Christ Alva Oklahoma as we stream our worship service every Sunday. We are a fellowship of believers that follow God’s Word and love all who worship with us!