Jessica Albritton, Family Connections Minister, LHBC
Job 42:1-6
Then Job answered the Lord and said: 2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4 ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ 5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; 6 therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
The story of Job has always intrigued me. Here we have this faithful man that had always followed God fervently, yet he suffered a great deal. We see in scripture Job was a blameless and upright man. In fact, he was so faithful the Lord even bragged about him to Satan. God says to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Now Satan isn’t really impressed with Jobs’ faithfulness. In fact, Satan responds to God expressing he is only faithful because his life is easy. Job has a great life, money, possessions, family, and influence. He has no reason at all to not love God. BUT, if all that went away… Satan tells God if all the comfort and things Job holds dear go away he will turn from God. God allows this to happen, and Satan begins wreaking havoc on Jobs’ life. First his servants die at the hands of Sabeans, then his livestock dies in a nasty fire, and lastly his children die in a tragic accident. Within a matter of minutes everything Job cared for was stripped away. Next Satan strikes his body and Job falls deathly ill. In chapter 2 we read the sores were so bad that when Job’s friends came to visit, they didn’t even recognize him and they wept at the sight. Things were certainly out of hand, and to make matters worse, his wife tells him he should just curse God and die… She must have had the spiritual gift of discouragement… So now everything is gone, he has nasty sores all over his body and his wife says just die. Now I know I’ve had some pretty rough days in my life but nothing like this.
To make matters worse, Jobs’ friends aren’t much better than his wife. They accuse Job of unrepentant sin and basically blame him for the unfortunate circumstance Job has found himself in. Now I get it, his friends were just trying to be helpful. They were trying to make sense of all they saw, and sin is a pretty good guess, but we know from chapter 1 that Job was a righteous man. The situation Job was in wasn’t a result of sin, but rather unwavering faithfulness. He has a lengthy back and forth with his not so good friends. The last friend to speak is Elihu. He spoke all of God’s goodness and majesty. He reminds Job that God is greater than man and always does what is right, even when we can’t understand it. Suddenly, a whirlwind comes, and God speaks directly to Job. God asks Job questions like, were you there when I made the earth? Are you the one who told the sea where to stop? Did you decide when the sun would rise or when snow would fall? Did you put the stars in the sky? Can you tell the eagles when to fly in the sky? Of course, the answer to all these questions is no. God basically tells Job, “Who do you think you are questioning me?” It reminds me of when kids ask their parents a question and the parents respond with, “because I said so.”
The thing that still blows my mind is the fact that even after everything Satan threw at Job he was still faithful to God. He didn’t understand the what or the why of all that was happening, but he knew he served a God that was faithful and trustworthy! Friend, we serve that same God! He was faithful and trustworthy in the life of Job and He is faithful and trustworthy still! I don’t know what situation you may be facing today but I know a God that can bring peace in the uncertainty! Don’t give into the temptation to curse God when life gets tough. Look to your Heavenly Father and know that you can trust Him because He is a good good Father!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Heavenly Father, fix my eyes on You and not the chaos of this world! Lord, there is so much I don’t understand, so much I don’t have an answer for. When I get discouraged by the uncertainty, help remind me that You are trustworthy, You are Faithful, You are good! In Jesus name, amen!