Integrity.

in·teg·ri·ty

  [in-teg-ri-tee]  

noun

"In this world all you ever own is your integrity. If you lose that you cannot buy it back."

Job 2:3-- Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one of earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you enticed me against him to ruin him without any reason."

Job 27:5-- "I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity."

Proverbs 10:9 "The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out."

JOB

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about true integrity is the book of Job.  A man who has everything and worships the Lord, a good and faithful servant. Satan comes a long and tells the Lord that if He was to take away all of Job's riches and family that he would then curse the Lord. So the Lord tells Satan to take everything away from Job except his life. 

Within the first Chapter of Job he loses everything he holds dear: all oxen and donkeys killed, his sheep and camels GONE. Even his children are killed when a building collapses. So what does Job do? He shaves his head and takes his robes off- NAKED he than worships the same God who just took everything from him. This is just the 1st test!

In Chapter 2 Satan returns to God and tells him that if he were to harm Job himself that would make him curse the Lord. So God gives the go ahead to harm him but not kill him. 

Here is the breakdown: 

- Satan gives Job sores from head to toe of his body.

- His wife says to Job "lose your integrity, curse God and go ahead and die!

- Job tells his wife she is being foolish..." shall we accept good from God and not trouble?!"

- In the end he doesn't curse God

Recap:

-NO children

-NO cattle

-Bad health

& yet he continues to praise the Lord and pray to him the entire time. Faithful & Full of INTEGRITY!

In the end the Lord blessed Job twice as much as before. He lived to be 140 years old and to see 4 generations of children. 

Having Integrity is never easy - It usually brings hard times because you have to be moral in an immoral world. It will be challenging but in the end it will ALWAYS be worth it. Integrity is having moral soundness, ethical adherence and ultimately honesty. Job lost everything and yet he still blessed and praised the Lord. It all paid off in the end. 

How many of us would have continued to trust God and not curse him if everything was taken away from us? I know I stress and worry about the littlest things I cannot even believe what I would or could do if my family was taken from me, so from here on out this is going to not only be a challenge for you all but also for me. To live a life on integrity even in the small stuff. God will reward those who believe and trust him. He has our BEST life in mind and our minds cannot even comprehend it. 




Thought I would leave yall with the most precious baby boy ever...Till next time!


XOXO

sweetest face ever.