SIDNEY — In the Biblical story of Job, a man becomes a pawn in a game between God and Satan.

In order to prove to Satan that God’s faithful remain faithful no matter what, God allows Satan to strip Job of all he has: family, land, possessions and health. Job, just as God predicted, sticks with his belief that God is good, despite all material evidence to the contrary. In response, when the game is over and God has won, God restores all Job had had and “also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:10)

“Job was rewarded double for his trouble,” said Benita R. Houck, of Sidney. That’s why she chose “Double for Your Trouble” as the title of an inspirational book she has just self-published. She has found, she said, that faithfulness in the face of problems can bring great rewards.

“‘Double for Your Trouble’ takes a close look at how we can identify the spiritual storms, crises and traps that we encounter on our faith journey and gives us the tools to prepare for them in the same manner that one would prepare for a natural disaster,” Houck said.

The book is a toolkit for spiritual preparedness.

“I believe this is the first step in being victorious over these circumstances,” she said.

It took Houck six years to complete manual, which is available as a print-on-demand, hard-copy volume and a Kindle book at Amazon.com. The price is $11.98. She didn’t write every day. She did spend more time writing during periods when she was unemployed, and she took a specific sabbatical from work to “find out what the ending of the book should be,” she said.

The idea to write it came from a friend who invited Houck to attend a women’s conference at a church. The friend didn’t understand everything that was being said by conference speakers and Houck found herself explaining Bible texts and theological thinking.

“Oh my gosh,” the friend said. “You have such a gift. I can see you writing a book and doing conferences all over the country.”

“I poo-pooed it,” Houck said. But later, as she listened to a television weatherman talk about severe weather awareness, a surprising thought came to her.

“Wouldn’t it be super if we could be prepared for the spiritual storms? We’d be ready like our first responders. When they go out on a call, they’re not afraid. What if we were as prepared as they are?” she recounted. “I took what the American Red Cross said to have for a preparedness kit and I equated that with the armor of God. Being prepared and knowing God’s battle plan and having the armor of God on changes one’s reaction to these life challenges, bringing spiritural growth.”

Houck quotes scripture throughout the volume. The Christian, but non-denominational, work includes passages from many Bible translations. But she also writes about her own experiences in relying on faith to overcome obstacles.

“I think, as you were writing it, you were learning the lessons as you went along. You’d write something and then say, ‘I need to know more about this,’” said her husband, Christopher.

Houck admitted that sometimes it was hard for her.

“It was a challenge to look back over my spiritual battles and to admit my shortcomings. I had to man up,” she said.

It was also a challenge to edit and revise what she had written. Her aunt, an ordained minister, went through it to make sure the writer wasn’t misinterpreting scripture. Then, when the book was finally finished, a friend in the publishing business told Houck it was way too long. Houck ruthlessly attacked it with her red pencil and threw out 50 percent of the more than 300 pages she had so painstakingly created.

“A lot of mine was redundancy. I had to go through it line by line (asking myself) ‘What’s the clear message I want to send?’” she said. She was left with stories rich in description that readers can identify with.

For instance, Houck discusses one of pieces of the armor of God, as described in Ephesians: the shield of faith (Eph. 6:16). She writes about what a Roman shield looked like and how it worked and then compares it to a modern device that serves the same purpose: a fire extinguisher.

In another passage, she addresses the trap of trauma.

“It seems to blindside you. So I describe what trauma looks like and what it was in my life,” she said.

Early response from readers has been good.

“It is awesome; an amazing book! I don’t want to put it down! Her message is powerful about tests, trials and hope. Very inspirational!” said Linda Engle, of Waynesfield.

“God’s timing is amazing! Through reading this book, I found some things I needed to address,” said Josh Stolle, of Troy.

Houck attended Berean University and has an educational background in pastoral ministries and counseling. A songwriter and musician, she is a former Sidney Daily News advertising department data entry clerk. She now works as an administrative assistant at Noll-Fisher in Anna.