The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends.
How closely tied together are God’s grace towards us and our grace towards others! Job’s friends had wronged him badly — emotionally, judgmentally, spiritually. Yet he prayed for their forgiveness. (Compare this to what Jesus says about freely forgiving others in Matthew 6:12-15 and 18:21-35.)
Could that have been the final victory for God in this contest with Satan over the heart of Job (see chapters 1-2)? The final proof that Job’s heart was still pure after all that Satan had done to him was his ability to forgive and even offer grace to these men who had wronged him so badly.
That was when God’s grace overflowed to Job, when Job did not assert his position over those men. “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
Are you at the end of your rope, desperately needing God’s help? Learn to be a giver of grace to others, and you will find God not only meeting your need for Him, but overflowing your life so that you become a blessing in the lives of everyone around you as well!
It is not only what God wants to do for you, but what He wants to do through you in the lives of others that matters. It may start with forgiving someone who has hurt you. Are you willing?
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