Wow! Revisiting the life of Job is humbling. By the time I finish the first chapter my head hangs in shame. Talk about a bad day! Four people showed up to announce bad news. One guy told Job all his oxen and donkeys were gone. Another came to announce that he had lost all his sheep and shepherds. A third came to say that all his camels and servants were gone. The final messenger brought the worst news. He said that all Job's children were at his oldest son's house and the structure collapsed, killing everyone.
If one person shows up at my office with bad news, like, "your computer can't be fixed", it rocks my world.
Job wasn't without feeling. He tore his clothes, fell to the ground and felt all the grief, pain and sorrow that life had thrown at him. What he demonstrated was a life-stabilizing, biblical worldview about himself, stuff and our existence. Check it out:
“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!”
Later, he set his wife straight by asking her if we should only accept good things from the Lord and never anything bad. It is recorded that he did not blame God and did not do anything wrong as a result of his horrible circumstances.
Behind the scenes the Devil and God were taking notes. The Devil claimed that Job worshipped God because God made his life easy. God said Job would worship Him no matter what his life looked like. Ouch!
How tough is your world right now? Are you able to worship God with the same integrity as when things are going good?
I can only pray that I have an ounce of Job's faith.
ReplyDelete