What is Your “Go To” Action?

God loved Job. In fact, He was so proud of him and had such great joy in Job’s faithfulness that he even brought him to the devil’s attention:

Job 1:8 “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”

Of course, Satan wasn’t buying any of it. He considered Job’s faith a sham. His argument was that Job only worshipped God for the blessings he got:

Job 1:11 “But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.”

So, the Lord called Satan’s bluff and gave him permission to do what he wanted to Job – within certain limits:

Job 1:12 “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.”

What follows is a series of rapid-fire calamities that were designed to shake his faith.

But Job stood true. In fact, when it was all said and done Job’s faith grew stronger. How?

Three reasons:

First, when trouble came, Job turned to God; he did not blame him: “Then Job arose…and worshipped” (1:20). Worship comes out of trust. Job trusted that his God was worthy of all praise – not because of the blessings God gave him, but because of God’s character. If my praise to God is solely based on the blessings He gives me, then my faith is what-have-you-done-for-me-lately faith (See John 6:22-27). If it’s based on my trust in the character and integrity of God, then my faith is God-is-truly-worthy faith.

Second, rather than trust to his own reasoning (Proverbs 3:5-6), he thought God thoughts:

Job 1:21 “…Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Finally, he’d made a lifelong habit of making worship his “go to” action in every situation. Even when things were going well, Job had a habit of turning to God:

Job 1:5  “And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.”

Whether in blessing or in burden, immediate worship is the key characteristic of all the great men and women of faith in the Bible.

So, we need to ask ourselves: What is my “go to” action?