September 27, 2026

JOB: GOD IS IN CONTROL

September 27, 2026

Senior Pastor Jonathan Falwell

Are you in a season when you feel you have no control over the circumstances that are happening in your life? Perhaps you are questioning whether God sees you, hears your prayers, has you in His hand—or even whether He cares about you anymore. Everyone goes through times when they know they won’t make it if God lets them out of His hand. Where is God? Does He care? Today we’ll see that at a time when Job desperately needed comfort—from God and from his friends—his friends roast him with their narrow view of what is happening in his life, concluding that God is punishing him for hidden sins. Do you have friends like that? Don’t let their opinions and voices drown out what God is saying to you. He has not left you alone nor let you down. Join us and be reminded to listen only to God.

Focal Passages: Job 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.  

Human voices are at times the loudest:

  • Read Job 8:1-4. What agony was Job suffering, as he desperately tried to figure out why God seemed to have deserted him? Was Job still trusting God? Did his friends hold any other opinion than that Job had sinned in some way?
  • How did Bildad begin his monologue? Did he have any truth in his statement? Last week we looked at John 9:2-3 as an example of a trial not as a result of sin; can you think of any other Scriptures that has reasons other than sin? Read Deut. 8:2. Why did Israel spend years in the wilderness, according to this verse? Does God still test us to show us our own hearts?
  • Job’s insistence on a blameless life caused his ‘frenemies’ to lash out viciously. Why were their harsh words so out of line while Job suffered so deeply?
  • Should you always assume those who offer thoughts on your situation have the right to be heard? Why is it easier to listen to all the opinions rather than sifting them carefully against the word of God? How can you stop loud comments from drowning out the voice of God?

God’s Word can be trusted:

  • Read Job 9:1-12. Can you rephrase all of these verses into one statement? Does Job seem to have an accurate view of the omnipotence of God? Read vv. 32-33. Does your heart break that Job did not know there is a Mediator between him and God? Do you see how blessed you are to have God’s Word, so you can know everything He desires for you?
  • Even though Job thought he couldn’t plead his case before God, was his life still open to prayer? Although it is easy to criticize the friends for their cruel words, we must remember that neither Job nor his friends knew what catalyst had begun this extraordinary upheaval. In your own life, do you ever wonder if a certain trial might be a Satanic attack?
  • Do you believe God is totally in control, even when you don’t understand what He is doing? Are you quick to defend God’s goodness? Do you ever question His complete power in every situation? How well do you know God?

God’s hand shaped you and keeps you:

  • Read Job 10:8-12. What are some of the verses that show Job knew God well? Did the truth of his words show why he was able to ‘not curse God and die,’ as his wife had said? Did the actions of Satan catch God by surprise when He allowed him to terrorize Job?
  • Did Job have an excellent concept of God’s creation of man? Do you have any doubt that God created you just as you are, for His purposes? Read John 10:27-29. Do you believe that He never takes His hand from your life?

Ignore the lies of the world, including the ones you tell yourself:

  • Read Job 11:1-6. Job’s third friend now contributes to the conversation. Is he any less savage than the others? Think for a moment of Job as a man who has just lost everything, and is now suffering physically. What if he believed the words of these men? If you were in this situation, would you survive their brutal words?
  • What are the lies you tell yourself often? Do you suffer emotionally because you are not _________ (fill in the blank)? Yet God created you perfect in His sight. Even if everyone condemns you, do you remember God’s love is always with you? Does the world wish to destroy you? Do you know beyond a doubt that God’s mercy surrounds you?

Remember, God is in control:

  • Read Job 12:6-14. How does Job respond to Zophar (i.e., that it seems evil or wicked people often live long lives with little going wrong)? How does this align with Psalm 73:1-12? Asaph thought the wicked had fewer troubles than believers, until he considered their end (verse 17). How do you view the wickedness of people?
  • Do you have any doubts that torment you about God, or His willingness to save you, or His love for you? Does anything escape God’s attention? Read Psalm 139 often!

Close:

Many years ago, there was a hymn sung in churches entitled “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” It was—and is—correct. God spoke the world into being, out of nothing. We can’t fathom that, but He did it. He is so far beyond what we can imagine that we cannot comprehend any of His omnipotence (His power), His omnipresence (everywhere all the time), or His omniscience (He knows all). We can’t imagine a world without time, nor without pain, nor wickedness, but one day it will all make sense. Meanwhile, we must keep ourselves in an attitude of holiness, ready at any moment to leave this earth for whatever we have prepared for in the afterlife—Heaven or Hell. Recognize that God is your salvation, your future, and your eternal life. But Heaven is prepared for a prepared people—those who have fixed their hearts on Him and given their lives completely to Him. If you haven’t done so already, do so today, for ‘today is the Day of Salvation.’ Tomorrow may be too late.

Sandy Day

September 27, 2026

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