But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have kept to his way without turning aside.
I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
Imagine yourself being healthy, with a loving family, a great job, and all the material comforts you desire. And then, in a moment, all of it is gone. And you have no idea why. You are in physical agony, your family is gone, and all you had has been destroyed or stolen. How do you respond to this disaster? What impact does this have on your faith in God?
This is where Job found himself. There was not a single thing left in his life to be thankful for. Even God seems to have turned his back on him. Yet he refused to curse God (Job 2:9-10), even though, to all appearances, God was responsible for his condition.
Responding with Trust
Instead, amid the train wreck that his life had become, Job vowed to remain faithful to God. And he trusted that when this time of testing was over, he would come forth as gold. And, as you read the end of Job’s story, you will find that he was richly blessed.
The story of Job raises more questions than I have answers for. But Job’s example here is one to consider and take to heart. Many people follow the Lord when life is good. When it seems like God is blessing them. But when life gets hard, they turn their backs on God, blaming him for their misfortune, and looking elsewhere for solutions to their problems.
How much better to have a faith in the Lord that is not dependent on the physical circumstances of life? To choose to trust him regardless of what you might be going through at any point in your life. Like Job, we do not know why many things happen in this life. But, like Job, we can choose to remain faithful despite them. Trusting that God will reward our faithfulness in the end.
I must admit it is easy to blame God when things go wrong. Can you imagine how God must feel when sometimes he has nothing to do with it? I think we all have to remember that God gives us free will and that alone can get us in a lot of trouble.
Yup, give us a choice, and watch how often we make the wrong one.