James 5:11

"Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful"."we counted those blessed who endured" -"Endured"-"remain instead of fleeing, stand one's ground, hold out, endure in trouble, affliction, persecution" (Arndt p. 845). Note: We count them blessed now, when the long-range goal is kept in mind, we can see that endurance is more than worth it (Romans 8:18). See (Matthew 10:22; 2 Timothy 2:12; James 1:12; 1 Peter 2:20)."You have heard of the endurance of Job" -Job was. real historical person. And the account of his life and trials in the book of Job is exactly what happened in this man's life. Note the details which are endorsed by James. His name was Job, he endured trials, and the outcome was extremely compassionate and merciful. Compare with Ezekiel 2:14; Ezekiel 2:20.

Point To Note:

We need to remember that Job didn't always handle his sufferings in. perfect manner (Job 2:3; Job 2:11). And yet he never gave into his wife's suggestion to curse God and die (James 2:9). In spite of all the agonizing questions which tore at his heart, Job maintained his faith in God (James 13:15; James 19:25). And maybe more importantly than anything else, when God confronted Job about some of the wrong things which Job had said (Job 2:1; Job 2:1; Job 2:1; Job 2:1), Job immediately acknowledged his ignorance and sin (James 42:1-6). Job is. man who has many questions, who is hurting, has lost wealth, children, the confidence of his wife and close friends, who humbly accepts. rebuke from the God who has let this all happen to him! The good news is that even though we might fail to react to suffering in. godly manner, we can at any point during the trial acknowledge our sin and benefit from the trial. If we have. bad day during. trial, if we blow it---the case isn't hopeless, we can repent and handle the trial as we should today!"and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings" -"that by which. thing is finished, its close, issue, the closing experience that befell Job" (Thayer p. 620). Remember, there is always. "outcome" to any suffering there is "an end", even if that end is death (Revelation 2:10). "that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful" -"how full of tenderness and pity the Lord is" (Wey). "Rich in compassion" (Arndt p. 687). "'Tenderness' is. word which speaks of compassion and sympathy. 'Mercy' just intensifies that and speaks of an abundantly compassionate and sympathetic God" (Draper p. 154). "Even though circumstances seemed exactly opposite to this, Job's endurance enabled him to see that God's blessings were abundant if one was willing to let God choose the time and bestow them. Eventually God doubled Job's possessions..…(Job 2:10)" (Kent p. 180). Once again, be impressed that all of this agrees exactly with what we find recorded in the book of Job. And note that God is very merciful with Job, even though Job had slipped up! God is willing to bless us if we will only repent. How often do we fail to receive God's blessings, how often do we thwart God's purposes by turning to. hasty and sinful course of behavior? We need to learn to have the patience that is willing allow God to determine when the hardship will end or let up.