(Text and notes from the Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation, Tyndale 1996)
Satan replied to the LORD, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God.
- Job 1:9
Satan attacked Job’s motives, saying that Job was blameless and had integrity only because he had no reason to turn against God. Ever since he had starting following God, everything had gone well for Job. Satan wanted to prove that Job worshipped God, not out of love, but because God had given him so much. Satan accurately analyzed why many people trust God. They are fair-weather believers, following God only when everything is going well or for what they can get. Adversity destroys this superficial faith. But adversity strengthens real faith by causing believers to dig their roots deeper into God in order to withstand the storms.
Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said,
“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!”
In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
- Job 1:20-22
Job did not hide his overwhelming grief. He had not lost his faith in God; instead, his emotions showed that he was human and that he loved his family. God created our emotions, and it is not sinful or inappropriate to express them as Job did. If you have experienced a deep loss, a disappointment, or a heartbreak, admit your feelings to yourself and others, and grieve.
But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.
- Job 2:10
Many people think that believing in God protects them from trouble, so when calamity comes, they question God’s goodness and justice. But the message of Job is that you should not give up on God because he allows you to have bad experiences. Faith in God does not guarantee personal prosperity, and lack of faith does not guarantee troubles in this life.
"Why is life given to those with no future,
those God has surrounded with difficulties?
I cannot eat for sighing;
my groans pour out like water.
What I always feared has happened to me.
What I dreaded has come true.
I have no peace, no quietness.
I have no rest; only trouble comes.”
- Job 3:23-26
Job had been careful not to worship material possessions but to worship God alone. Here he was overwhelmed by calamities that mocked his caution, and he complained about trials that came despite his right living. All the principles by which he had lived were crumbling, and Job began to lose his perspective. Trials and grief, whether temporary or enduring, do not destroy the real purpose of life. Life is not given merely for happiness and personal fulfillment but for us to serve and honor God. The worth and meaning of life is not based on what we feel but on the one reality no one can take away – God’s love for us. Don’t assume that because God truly loves you, he will always prevent suffering. The opposite may be true. God’s love cannot be measured or limited by how great or how little we may suffer. Romans 8:38-39 teaches us that nothing can separate us from God’s love.
"Don’t people complain about unsalted food?
Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?
My appetite disappears when I look at it;
I gag at the thought of eating it!"
- Job 6:6-7
Job said that Eliphaz’s advice was like eating the tasteless white of an egg. When people are going through severe trials, ill-advised counsel is distasteful. They may listen politely, but inside they are upset. Be slow to give advice to those who are hurting. They often need compassion more than they need advice.
"Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty.
Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.
I am innocent,
but it makes no difference to me—
I despise my life."
- Job 9:20-21
Job was saying, “In spite of my good life, God is determined to condemn me.” As his suffering continued, he became more impatient. Although Job remained loyal to God, he made statements he would later regret. In times of extended sickness or prolonged pain, it is natural for people to doubt, to despair, or to become impatient. During those times, people need someone to listen to them, to help them work through their feelings and frustrations. Your patience with their impatience will help them.
“I am disgusted with my life.
Let me complain freely.
My bitter soul must complain.”
- Job 10:1
Job began to wallow in self-pity. When we face baffling affliction, our pain lures us toward feeling sorry for ourselves. At this point, we are only one step from self-righteousness, where we keep track of life’s injustices and say, “Look what happened to me; how unfair it is!” We may feel like blaming God. Remember that life’s trials, whether allowed by God or sent by God, can be the means for development and refinement. When facing trials, ask, “What can I learn and how can I grow?” rather than “Who did this to me and how can I get out of it?”
“They suffer painfully;
their life is full of trouble.”
- Job 14:22
Job’s profound speech in this chapter illustrates a great truth: To have a right set of doctrines is not enough. To know what to believe is not all that is required to please God. Truth untested by life’s experiences may become static and stagnant. Suffering can bring a dynamic quality to life. Just as drought drives the roots of a tree deeper to find water, so suffering can drive us beyond superficial acceptance of truth to dependence on God for hope and life.
“As for all of you, come back with a better argument,
though I still won’t find a wise man among you.”
- Job 17:10
Job’s three friends had a reputation for being wise, but Job could not find wisdom in any of them. God backed up Job’s claim in 42:7, when he condemned these men for their false portrayal of him. Obviously these men had a faulty view of wisdom. They assumed that because they were prosperous and successful, God must be pleased with the way they were living and thinking. Job, however, told his friends that they were starting with the wrong idea because earthly success and prosperity are not a regard for faith in God. Likewise, trouble and affliction do not prove faithlessness. The truly wise man knows that wisdom comes from God alone, not from human successes or failures. And the truly wise man never forsakes God. God’s wisdom proved superior to Job and to all his friends.
"You have already insulted me ten times.
You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.
Even if I have sinned,
that is my concern, not yours.
You think you’re better than I am,
using my humiliation as evidence of my sin."
- Job 19:3-5
It is easy to point out someone else’s faults or sins. Job’s friends accused him of sin to make him feel guilty, not to encourage or correct him. If we feel we must admonish someone, we should be sure we are confronting that person because we love him, not because we are annoyed, inconvenienced, or seeking to blame him.
“But who can teach a lesson to God,
since he judges even the most powerful?”
- Job 21:22
Although baffled by the reasons for his suffering, Job affirmed God’s superior understanding by asking, “Who can teach a lesson to God?” The way you respond to your personal struggles shows your attitude toward God. Rather than becoming angry with God, continue to trust him, no matter what your circumstances may be. Although it is sometimes difficult to see, God is in control. We must commit ourselves to him so we will not resent his timing.
"But ask those who have been around,
and they will tell you the truth.
Evil people are spared in times of calamity
and are allowed to escape disaster.
No one criticizes them openly
or pays them back for what they have done.
When they are carried to the grave,
an honor guard keeps watch at their tomb.
A great funeral procession goes to the cemetery.
Many pay their respects as the body is laid to rest,
and the earth gives sweet repose."
- Job 21:29-33
If wicked people become wealth despite their sin, why should we try to be good? The wicked may seem to get away with sin, but there is a higher Judge and a future judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). The final settlement of justice will come, not in this life, but in the next. What is important is how a person views God in prosperity or poverty, not the prosperity or poverty itself.
Important Lesson:
Job’s words to his friends reveal several ways to become a better comforter to those in pain:
1. Don’t talk just for the sake of talking;
2. Don’t sermonize by giving pat answers;
3. Don’t accuse or criticize;
4. Put yourself in the other person’s place; and
5. Offer help and encouragement.
Try Job’s suggestions, knowing that they are given by a person who needed great comfort. The best comforters are those who know something about personal suffering.
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