Lessons from Job

"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped.

And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.'"

Job 1:20-21

I was reading in Job earlier last week and this passage struck me. This wasn't Job's response after walking through some small disagreement or difficulty. This was his response immediately following the news brought to him by his servants that all his 11,000 livestock and servants had been overtaken by enemies. While the other servants were still speaking, another came and reported the house where his ten children were feasting had collapsed, crushing them all. I tried to imagine the shock and anguish those moments must have brought to Job, knowing in a single moment, his entire family was gone. Yet, the chapter continues with...

"In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong." Job 1:22

How often do I complain about life's little troubles? What about my often bitter, angry, or sad reactions to deferred expectation or unforseen changes in plans? By God's grace I've never had to experience deep suffering, yet the things I do "anguish" over often bare little significance in light of eternity and are really a means to conform my heart to my Savior's. I was reading through Mark Dever's commentary on Job in The Message of the Old Testament and he summarizes Job's wisdom as a realistic exploration of suffering. Yet, in the limits of our understanding, it illustrates compellingly our need to trust God. How comforting to know that in the midst of "confusion" and "darkness", our Heavenly Father already knows our steps and wants us to trust in his sovereign power!!