Job 38:3- Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
In human history, only Christ has suffered more than Job. The enemy believed that Job only served God because he was extremely wealthy. The hedge satan referred to around him in Job the first chapter was actually God’s hands protecting Job. The enemy’s challenge to his God (Matt. 4:7) was for the Lord to remove His hands from Job, and satan claimed he could get Job to curse God. SATAN WAS REALLY JEALOUS OVER GOD’S FAVOR ON JOB’S LIFE. God gave Job into satan’s hands. The old serpent destroyed everything Job owned. He even murdered his children. When Job would not curse God after all this, satan asked for permission to afflict Job’s body. God gave it to him, with one stipulation: he could not take Job’s life. Towards the end of Job’s ongoing saga he was bankrupt, without any family, and probably looked like a monster according to the biblical descriptions of his conditions. Yet Job maintained his faith in God! And God’s favor not only restored him, but gave him double for his trouble.
Job 38:3 has always awed me because God challenged Job to stop wining, and to prepare his mind to redirect his thoughts! This is exactly what “Gird up now thy loins” means. Job’s tribulation, test, trial, was to test his faith in God. Job’s life lets us know that no matter how bad it gets, GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL. His grace is sufficient for our every need. It even strengthens us when we are weak (II Cor. 12:9). Do not be overwhelmed by what you are confronting. Do not think of the magnitude of your problem, but think of the greatness of your God. God is demanding that you hear Him. Open up His Word and find out what He wants to say to you.