Job 1:4-5: Job’s sons would take turns preparing feasts in their homes, and they would also invite their three sisters to celebrate with them. When these celebrations ended—sometimes after several days—Job would purify his children. He would het up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular practice.”
Job 1:20-22 “Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground in 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 2:7-10 “So Satan left the Lord’s presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot. Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, ‘Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.’
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.”
I love these verses where Job shows boldness in practicing his faith and honoring God in all he does. In the first chapter, Job is faced with a test of being the Lord’s fearful blameless servant to see if he is still faithful to God.
God lets Satan take away Job’s animals and family in one foul swoop. A total of four messengers make it out alive to tell Job this horrible news.
I admire how Job is still faithful to the Lord, even though all his children and animals are gone. This shows how obedient Job was to the Lord, not letting anything stand between him and God.
We all are susceptible to these pitfalls where things happen to us for no reason. I can relate to Job as I lost my dad ten years ago to pancreatic cancer. I felt empty and broken during the initial grief that followed his passing.
Without Father God in my heart and the people He placed in my life at the time to get through this, I wouldn’t be stronger and as bold as I am today.
As Job struggled with losing his children and animals, as I struggled with the loss of my dad, there’s something to take away from this. Struggling is a good thing. This means that the Spirit of God is IN YOU, working in you during the midst of those dark times. Feeling the tension of the fight between the Spirit and the flesh is a good thing. It’s up to you whom you choose to follow.
If you’re NOT struggling with anything, I’d ask you this: Has the Spirit of God confronted you in any way? Has He made known to you areas that He can work on in your life? Let’s end with a prayer:
Dear Father God,
To anyone reading this post, I pray for them as they encounter You and all Your Kingdom has to offer. If they are struggling at this very moment with anything, maybe a loss, a toxic relationship, a broken marriage, or overwhelmed by what life throws at them on a constant basis, my prayer is this: follow Job’s footsteps. Seek Father God in both the good and bad times. When the future may look distant, the darkness blinds the hope—turn to God. I pray Father that they find refuge and comfort in Your Word, as that is the way, the truth, and the life. I pray they have a blessed week and stay safe. In Jesus’s name, I pray, Amen.