INTRODUCTION: During the next eight days I want to share devotions from the book of Job. If you have time you can read all of the book, taking the daily reading challenge. Job is the story of a “good man who experiences significant loss—of wife, family, property, and health” as a test of his faith. After losing everything, he is visited first by three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—who attempt to “comfort” him. Elihu, a younger man, then comes and tries to rescue Job from his abyss. Finally, Job, having passed the test, has everything restored to him double. The book is relevant for us today because many people are suffering. Many different viewpoints are given for why people are suffering. Ultimately, the book expresses that God is sovereign over all and, although we don’t understand it, God will make things right in the end.
We have a lot of questions about faith and life right now. These questions include “why does God allow people to suffer with the coronavirus? Why is there such division among people concerning race and class? Why does it often seem like (in our estimation) the good guys suffer, but the bad guys do well?
All of these questions are considered in the Bible, particularly in the wisdom books that include Job, Proverbs, Psalms, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes. The beginning of the book of Job provides two more questions: does it pay to be “blameless and upright?” Can you assume that if you are suffering there is a reason for it?
It is said that “you cannot judge a book by its cover.” Over the course of time of raising two daughters we would often hear about their friend’s families and houses, and how great things were there. We also had family members who thrived financially compared to us. In both cases we would say that we are happy in who we are. You cannot measure happiness by outward measures of success. We were rich in relationships with one another, while others either had an unknown situation or had difficult relationships.
The book of Job examines the question of whether if you are doing well on the outside, you are living well on the inside. During this Covid 19 crisis, we know many people who inwardly thrive because of the simplicity of their trust in God. There are still others who we wonder why they are suffering so.
Ultimately, whatever our situation is in life the most important things are having a good relationship to God and others. Although Job questioned God all the way, he did not leave God, and God did not leave him. It is alright for us to question God, but ultimately He is our God!
“Gracious God, help me hold on to you even when I don’t understand what is going on in the world, or even to me. Amen.”
Pastor Roger Black
Further Reading: Job 1-3
