“The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first…”
Job 42:12

I was going through the Devotional in my book called “TESTING…FOLLOWED BY BLESSING”.  God has set a precedence in his Word that when you have gone through a time of testing successfully it will be followed by a time of blessing.  It’s not just a catchy line I came up with—it’s a principle in scripture!  Whether it takes place here or in heaven—Testing is followed by Blessing!

There are so many biblical examples of this: Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Esther…the list could go on.  The biggest example of this is in the life of Job.  In Chapter 1 of Job we read the record of God and the devil’s discussion over how good Job is.  God saw Job as faithful.  The devil, literally translated as “the accuser”, thought that Job was only faithful to God because God blessed him so much financially and in his family.  The devil asked if he could test Job in these areas and God agreed.  First the devil killed all of Job’s servants, next all his children and then all his livestock; which was equivalent to financial ruin in that day. After all these losses Job still kept his faith in God.
The devil went to God again and asked if he could further test Job and God agreed.  The devil gave Job boils all over his body.  Still he remained faithful to God in all of his testing.  It wasn’t like he enjoyed it or was happy throughout it all.  Job is very human in his response, but he never turns his back on God.  Job cursed the day he was born, but still did not curse God. Even when he lost everything and couldn’t see any blessing, he still believed God was good.  What an incredible testimony! 
At the end of Job we read how God blessed him with MORE than he had in the first part of his life.  He ended up with twice of all that he owned before, a VERY wealthy man.  God blessed Job again with 7 more sons and 3 more daughters, giving him a long life to see even his great-great-grandchildren live!  Testing is followed by…

!

Prayer:
Father, I thank-you that you see me as good even when the accuser says differently.  I thank-you that your plans for me are good and that you won’t let me be tempted beyond what I can bear. Help me to stand strong so that I can pass the tests of my life and walk in Your blessing!  In Jesus name,  Amen.
 (WATER IN THE DESERT; Section 3-WATER IN THE WANDERING: TESTING…FOLLOWED BY BLESSING, pgs.112-114).