"'And behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.' 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. The 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 1:19-22
It is a fact of life that bad things happen. There is no way around it. Our views, thoughts and how we handle such situations; however, vary widely. When more of the story is read, it is revealed that Job lost the animals that represent his livelihood, his servants that represent his workforce, his sheep which represent his ability to feed and clothe himself, and his children. All of these things happened and were reported in rapid succession. It is difficult to imagine experiencing greater losses in worse ways than these. What is more difficult to imagine is his attitude.
When most would criticize and become angry at God, Job worshiped and praised Him. Astoundingly, he acknowledged that he was born with nothing, that God had given him all that he had and that God had the right to take it all away. Given human nature, this is the rarest of all possible responses to such calamity.
Beloved, achieving Job's attitude must be the goal of all Christians particularly in this era of COVID-19, social unrest and upheaval and economic distress. So often, we put ahead of God the blessings of employment, possessions, material goods and family that He has so graciously provided. When we become consumed by the acquisition, maintaining or loss of them, we are in effect exchanging the one true God for idols. This is not to say that we should not be great stewards of what we are given or that we should not mourn loss but that we should trust God completely and rely upon Him to keep us in and through all situations, be they favorable or not.
We know that Job would later wrestle a bit with the things that were happening when they got even worse, but he remained faithful, he kept his trust in God and was eventually restored in a way that multiplied his original position in life. It should further be stated that the reason these things happened is because God had faith in him. Can He have that kind of faith in us?
Increasing in Faith,
Lee
