Surprising lessons from the life of Job

We live in a Genesis 3 world. After Adam’s sin the world we inhabit is filled with difficulties. Thankfully, everything we lost in Adam is more than regained in the Person of Jesus. Perhaps no one in this world ever suffered more than Job. Job was “perfect and upright” (Job 1:1). He was a man of integrity. He feared God and yet he still suffered greatly.

In a single day Job lost almost everything. Four messengers brought one devastating report after another. Job was stripped of his wealth. He lost five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, three thousand camels and seven thousand sheep. Even worse a tornado struck his home and Job lost all 10 of his children. Later, Job lost his health. He was covered in boils from head to toe. Even his wife told him to curse God and die.

Amazingly, Job responded properly to the tragedies in his life. Job provides a template for dealing with disaster. It is very difficult but Job provides a pattern for us to follow. Job 1:20-22 reads, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. There Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.’ Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” Job responded to suffering and tragedy in five ways.

Job’s first response was to grieve. He tore his robe and shaved his head. Job is perhaps the oldest book in the Bible. These are expressions of grieve. We are emotional beings. Even Jesus wept over the death of His friend Lazarus (John 11:35). The apostle Paul said, “We do not grieve as those who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We grieve but not as those who have no hope. When King David lost his best friend Jonathan as well as King Saul David grieved. He and his men mourned and wept and fasted (2 Samuel 1:12).

Job’s second response was to focus on eternity. Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there.” Thankfully, this life is not all that exists. This life needs to be understood in the context of eternity. Romans 8:18 reads, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Every single person will spend eternity somewhere. The difficulties of this present time pale in comparison to eternity.

Job’s third response was to remember God’s sovereignty. Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.” This third response is difficult. God is not the author of evil. God is not the cause of sin. However, God even uses trouble and difficulties to produce good. God used the death of His own Son to bring about our salvation. God understands suffering. Our sin resulted in Jesus dying to rescue us. The Father was forced to punish His own Son for our sins.

Job’s fourth response was to worship. Job “fell to the ground and worshiped” (verse 20). He said, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (verse 22). In times of confusion we must remember the attributes of God. God is loving. The Lord Jesus is kind. God cares. He acts on behalf of His people. Jesus is preparing a place for us. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Job made the decision to worship God.

Job’s fifth response was to not be bitter. Verse 22 reads, “Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” Bitterness is settled anger. Bitterness is deadly. The opposite of bitterness is forgiveness. We are never more like God than when we forgive others. Bitterness traps a person in the past. Bitterness gives Satan an open door. If you are saved, God has forgiven you. When we understand how much God has forgiven us, how can we not forgive others? (Matthew 18:21-25).

Job 1 is not the end of the story. Times of testing come into every person’s life. Job 42 is the end of the story. God is a God of mercy and grace. “The Lord increased all that Job had twofold” (Job 42:10). “The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning and he had fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand camels and one thousand yoke of oxen and one thousand female donkeys” (Job 42:12). God also gave him ten more children. He had ten children in heaven and ten on earth! My prayer is that we will walk in the steps of Job as we face the difficulties of life.

Ethan Hansen is the pastor of Faith Bible Fellowship in Big Lake.