"Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
A little leaguer playing third base was cheering his team on, in spite of the fact the score was twenty-one to nothing. An observer from the sidelines asked how he could be so positive in light of the dismal score. The little urchin replied, "Shucks, mister, we ain't even been up to bat yet!"
It is important when going through the trials of life to keep your attention, not on the present, but the end results. That piece of pottery in the furnace alone can feel abandoned at times. But then comes the end, when the potter takes it from the fires a vessel unto honor.
Job, like Abraham, had a strong faith ("Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him") but a weak flesh ("Why died I not from the womb?"). When going through a variety of miseries, it is not uncommon for God's people to teeter-totter between the flesh and faith. But you can be sure, faith will win out in the end.
The end will crown all! If we will but patiently wait, we'll see "that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." As Matthew Henry says, "His bounty is manifested afterwards!"
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