Day 175: Job, the man who lost it all but never his faith…he was rewarded for that.
We’ve all lost things, people, animals, homes, jobs, and it is not easy to not feel afflicted by it. It’s human nature to be mad, sad, feel punished, or any number of emotions. It is not unusual to feel angry with God for these things, too, knowing that He could stop our pain and suffering but doesn’t always choose to do that. Even more so, it can add to our pain.
Job was such a man. He loses all his stock — 11,000 animals to thieves and fire, his servants/herders are killed by them, his 10 children all die in a windstorm that destroys the house, and then he develops a skin condition that leaves sores all over him. His wife says he should curse God and then he will die from the blasphemy and end his suffering, his friends all think he has done wrong to God and is being punished. But, it was Satan who said to God that I can make your servant, Job, turn away from you; thus, all the bad things that happened to him. Job 1:6 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan, came also among them.”
But, Job doesn’t believe he did anything wrong to God. He believes he was good, making burnt offerings, and such. He doesn’t understand that on top of all his losses, he has to suffer the insults of those around him. He questions God why he suffered so many losses. He also says that it is God who will have to prove wrong those that questioned why this happened to him. Job feels he has every right to complain about his woes, and to God, and to his ‘friends” and the doctors…. He just wants them to stop judging why this happened to him, and he wants his skin healed, which the doctors can’t seem to do.
Job never turns away from God. See, crying out to Him, even when very angry means you are still believing He exists, that He can do all things, and that He simply is God, whom without, there is no where to turn. Job has faith in God, repenting his anger, and sits waiting for God to do what He will with his life. It wasn’t because Job was blessed with all the things that he was given, that he had faith. It’s easy to love God and feel good about life when everything is rosy. It’s not easy to stay in faith when all looks like it was for nothing. It is hard waiting. Most of us don’t have that kind of patience. We don’t see the bigger picture.
But, God blesses our waiting and our faith. He teaches us patience by letting us grumble and He sits back, patiently, until we learn something, or change something. Job knows that everything he had came from God to begin with, and that none of it is promised forever. He knows God has the right to take it back. He knows that God can deliver ten-fold, as well. God uses our iniquities, too. All is for us to see, and understand the true Power of God. Satan tries to turn us away from Him, but God’s Power is much greater than Satan’s, and he can restore anything and all. And when He does, it is greater than before.
Job understands that he doesn’t have the understanding of God, because our thoughts are not His thoughts. He never explains to Job, but questions him by saying, “Where were you when I created the world?” This means, “do you see My Power? Do you not know who I AM? Do you not know what I AM capable of doing? That I know the direction of every star in Heaven?” Job gets it. Now, he just listens. God also makes demands on those who taunted Job, and spread lies about God. Nothing goes unnoticed by God….you can’t tiptoe away. He makes them each give something of value to Job, gold and money, but first, they must make offerings to God in repentance.
God blesses Job for his faithfulness with a new life; ten more children, double his flocks, and a life to 140 years old, so that he can see several generations of his family thrive. It appears that Job only had the one wife, and his eyes never strayed from her. That would mean that she produced 20 children…but, women who could produce children were considered blessed. Job also believes in a life after death, as he states, Job 19:25, “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.”
The Book of Job is much longer than this narrative, but the purpose of this is to let you know that bad things can happen to good people, but good things can come back to them in abundance. Faith is tested, but gratitude begets faith, and faith learned is really hard to unlearn, unless you give up. Never give up on God.
