Job 6-9

We find Job today in the wake of the destruction that Satan, with God's permission, has wreaked on his life.  It seems to me that the accusations and assaults on Job's faith that come after the tragedy are worse than the loss itself.  And this is no small thing.  Job has lost all of his possessions and all of his children in a single day.  On top of that, his health has been devastated. He has been a victim of violence, natural disaster, and disease.  He can't sleep, can't eat, and even though he wants to die, he can't. This is not because of some evil he has done, but rather because he is righteous and God has chosen him as an example of faithfulness through suffering.  I doubt Job saw this as a blessing and a privilege at the time, and perhaps that is the point of this book. 

We rarely consider suffering to be a blessing and a privilege, yet we are told to "count it all joy" because God is working in us.  (James 1:2-4)  We are also told that there is a "harvest of righteousness" for those who endure discipline.  (Heb.12:11).  But in the middle of the trial, it is very difficult if not impossible to see what God is doing. We expect to see some result according to our time table.  And we expect the result to be one that we would have chosen:  something that fits our limited view of the situation. 

Job's friend Eliphaz advises him to repent and seek God, because such suffering must be caused by some sin on Job's part.  Another friend, Bildad, suggests that Job's faith must be weak "like a spider's web."  If Job were truly good and faithful, God would restore him right away.  Job, for his part, says he is too weak to plead his case before God, and God probably would not listen to him anyway.

These ideas are still around today:

• What comes around goes around.  If you are suffering, you deserve it.  Karma's a b*****.

-or-

• God is powerful, but He is not good, or fair.  Otherwise He would do things the way I think He should.  A good God would not let good people suffer.

-or-

• God is good and fair, but He is not powerful, and therefore can't act on my behalf.  He's busy helping someone else who is more deserving or has stronger faith than I do.

These are the only explanations open to us when we define for ourselves what good is.  We define what God's help and favor should look like in our situation.  We should be healthy, happy, wealthy, safe, wise or ______ (you fill in the blank) .  If we aren't, one of the above must be true.  I, for one, am thankful for the account of Job, which tells us there is more to the story than we can see, a purpose beyond ourselves. 

Do yourself a favor and skip ahead to the last chapter.  Job has new understanding of God's power and mercy.  God restores Job and forgives Job's friends for their foolish comments.  Job lives out his life even more blessed than he was before.  But even more important, I think, is who is missing from the end of the story.  Satan, who was so proud and boastful at the beginning, is nowhere to be seen.  I think he ran away with his tail between his legs when God showed up on Job's behalf. 

Lord, may I desire Your glory and the triumph of good over evil more than my own comfort and my own definition of what it means to be blessed.