I started reading Job again today. I’ve been avoiding it simply because “Patience through Suffering” may be what I need, but it’s not what I want. Job was known as the greatest man from the East. Maybe he was Chinese! In any case, the Bible says he was exemplary in wealth, righteousness, and character. In fact, he was God’s poster-child of what a man should be. The Bible calls him blameless. And what did he get for it?
In one fell swoop, he lost all of his immense wealth, and unthinkably, even his ten children! Then, if that wasn’t enough, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, painful pus-filled boils appeared that gave him constant agony. So great was his suffering that his own wife told him to, “Curse God and die!” Yet, the Bible tells us that in all of his suffering, Job refused to blame God. In fact, it was he that coined the phrase, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” – Job 1:21 NASB
Recently, my son remarked to me that the stroke is taking a long time. “Daddy, are you well yet?” Frankly, words like that strike fear in my heart. I would be horrified to have my daughter’s earliest memories of me being a weak, crippled, and feeble man. From talking with others, I am most likely still in the early stages of my recovery. It is a long and grueling trial. Even though as a family, we’re going through the greatest challenge we’ve ever faced, I can tell that I hope I never get tested like Job did. I am so very thankful that my wife and children are healthy and alive!
But reading Job again, there’s something that I didn’t appreciate before. Job gets slammed not because he did something morally wrong or stupid, or even made an error in judgment. Job gets tested because God is proud of him! It is because of Job’s exemplary love and devotion to God that Satan obnoxiously challenges God to let him test Job.
When Job’s three friends show up, they pour salt into his wounds. They tell him that surely his misfortune is the result of gross wrongdoing. You know the saying, “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” Don’t get me wrong, many times our misfortune is the result of stupid things we’ve done. Perhaps there are times that we’ve known the right thing to do, but we have done the wrong thing anyway, and thus suffer the consequences. But sometimes we get the rug pulled out from under our feet when we are doing the right things. Sometimes people take advantage of us and betray us. Sometimes we are trying our very best, and still, things turn sour. Sometimes it feels as though God Himself has turned His back on us. It is during those times that we need to remember how the story of Job ends. In the end of the story, God rebukes Job’s three useless friends, and after Job intercedes for them, God blesses Job with twice as much as he lost. Furthermore, Job has 10 new children and then lives to a grand old age, even seeing his great great grandchildren with his reputation sterling and intact.
Do you ever feel like Job? Have you been stolen from, victimized, or stabbed in the back? Or maybe, even though you’ve done all the right things you know how to do, and have been faithful to God, you feel like things haven’t turned out for you? Remember Job. God’s not done with your story yet! Hang in there. Remain faithful and wait for the epilogue. God’s blessings are coming your way! (Galatians 6:9)
But maybe we can learn from Job’s friends as well. His friends should have been an encouragement. They could have prayed for him, they could have sat beside him, giving him companionship. But instead, they gave him a bunch of really bad advice. When we have opportunity, let’s give support rather than advice. Let’s not be a “Job’s counselor.”
In any case, there are practical lessons to learn. If you’re suffering for doing the right things, don’t give up. Hang in there. God is aware of your suffering and he will reward you accordingly. If you have an opportunity to pray for and comfort someone, don’t lecture them or give them advice. They need your encouragement and hope.
“And so the Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part… and Job died an old man, full of years.” – Job 42:12-17