There are many times that we see God working in our lives. At the same time, in just a little while, completely forgetting this, we leave him, seeking what really calls our attention, for example, the world. But how can we forget so quickly what God has done for us? It is simply this, sin has this power.

We have some examples in the Bible that illustrate this well. Perhaps the first example on the list would be the calf of gold, a story related to us in Exodus 32.1...

Now we will retell a little of Israel’s past that led them to idolize the calf. God had sent Moses to rescue them. He had thrown plagues upon the Egyptians, as a punishment for their disobedience. God led the Israelites into the desert, by morning using a cloud and by night by a column off ire (Ex. 13:21). God opened the Red Sea, giving them passage and drowning the Egyptians. Deus sustained the Israelites during their wanderings in the desert (Ex. 16:1-10).

Observing this, we can see that the Lord always was helping and providing conditions so that the people would continue serving him. But even in spite of this, in only a question of months, they abandoned Him, trading Him for a calf made of gold.

On the other side, there are some examples of people that in the midst of extreme difficulty did not abandon God. We are going to speak a little about Job. The Bible cites Job as a man who feared God and who stayed away from evil (Job 1: 1). The Bible says that He was very rich (1:3). But the Bible also tells the story of a great tragedy that happened to him. All of his children died, and He lost his lands, and contracted a type of incurable disease. And, in the very same moment his own wife condemned him (2:9). But in all of this Job did not abandon the Lord.

Here was used only one example of each side, however there exists in the Bible many other examples, some good, others terrible. Those good examples, speak about people who persevered. And the terrible ones, tell of those people who fell away, forgetting very quickly what God had done for them.

Many times it is exactly this that happens to us. We receive a great blessing, and quickly we forget , and then we resolve to seek other things that we prefer, "deusus" that please our way to live. And for those in the same dilemma as Job (they ask: why are these things happening like this always it is going to appear a person like his wife, suggesting that we curse the Lord and die. In other words,, that we leave him, that we abandon Him. It is from these people, we must maintain our distance, seeking to follow the example of Job.

God will always honor our efforts, just as He honored the perseverance of Job (Job 42:10).

- Matheus da Silva Ferreira