Question:

"What should we learn from the life of Job?"


Answer:

The life of Job is proof that man usually has no idea
what God is doing behind the scenes in the life of each believer.
All humans ask the question,
"Why do bad things happen to good people?"
It is the age-old question, and one that is sometimes difficult
to answer in human terms, but believers have an advantage

because we know that God is always in control and,
no matter what happens, there are no coincidences—
nothing happens by chance.

Job was such a man; he knew that God was on the throne
and in total control,
though he had no way of knowing why so many terrible tragedies
were occurring in his life.

Job never lost his faith in God,

even under the most heartbreaking circumstances
that tested him to his core.

It’s hard to imagine losing everything we own in one day—
property, possessions, and even children.
Most men would sink into depression and even become suicidal
after such a nightmare;

however, although Job must have felt all those emotions,
he never wavered in his understanding that God was still in control.

Job’s three friends, on the other hand,

instead of comforting him, gave him bad advice
and even accused him of committing sins so grievous
that God was punishing him by making his life miserable.

Job knew God well enough to know that He did not work that way;
in fact, he had such an intimate, personal relationship with Him that he was able to make the statement,

"Though he slay me,
yet will I hope in him;
I will surely defend my ways to his face”
(Job 13:15),

There is another lesson in the book of Job,
and that is the bond between husband and wife.

Satan declared war on Job,
trying to prove that he was only faithful to God
because God had blessed him.

God allowed Satan to test Job’s faith, but He stopped him
at the point of taking Job’s life (Job 1:12).

God declares that a husband and wife are “one flesh”
(Genesis 2:24);

therefore, because of this God-ordained bond,
Satan was forbidden to take the life of Job’s wife,
as well as that of Job.

She obviously did not have faith like that of Job,
because her response to the calamity was to tell Job to

“Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9).

Her faith did not spare her, but her marriage bond with Job did.
She was considered the same flesh as her husband,
so Satan could not take her life either.

Job’s plight,
from the death of his children and loss of his property
to the physical torment he endured,
plus the unending harangue of his so-called friends,
still never caused his faith to waver.

He knew who his Messiah was, he knew that He was a living Savior,
and he knew that someday He would physically stand on planet earth
(Job 19:25).

The spiritual depth of Job shows throughout his writings.
He understood that man’s days are ordained (numbered),
and they cannot be changed (Job 14:5).
Job described the experience of salvation as one in which men,
destined to eternity in “the pit,”

are ransomed and redeemed by a gracious God
who shines His light on them (Job 33:23-30).

There are also many scientific and historical facts
in the book of Job.
He wrote that the earth is round long before it was proven
to be so,
referring to the “circuit of heaven” (Job 22:14).

He spoke of dinosaurs,

living not before man was created as secularists teach today,
but living side-by-side with man,

as stated in Job 40:15:
"Now behold behemoth,
which I made along with you;
he eats grass like an ox” (KJV).

The book of Job gives us the only glimpse behind the veil
that separates earthly life from the heavenly.

In the beginning of the book, we see that Satan
and his fallen angels are still allowed free access to heaven,
going in and out to the prescribed meetings that take place there.

What is obvious from these accounts is that Satan is busy
working his evil on planet earth, as recorded in Job 1:6-7.

Also, this account shows how

Satan is “the accuser of the brethren,”
which corresponds to Revelation 12:10,

and it shows his arrogance and pride,
as written in Isaiah 14:13-14.

It is amazing to see how Satan challenges God;

he has no scruples about confronting the Most High God
because he has no fear of Him.

The account in Job clearly shows Satan as he truly is—
haughty,
pride-filled,
and evil to the core.

Perhaps the greatest lesson we learn from the book of Job
is that God does not have to answer to anyone
for what He does or does not do.

What we learn from Job’s experience is that we may never know
the specific reason for suffering,

but we must trust in our
sovereign,
holy,
righteous God
whose ways are perfect (Psalm 18:30).

If God’s ways are “perfect,”
then we can trust that whatever He does—
and whatever He allows—is also perfect.

This may not seem possible to us, but our minds are not God’s mind.

It is true that we can’t expect to understand His mind perfectly,

as He reminds us

“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,’ says the LORD.
‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts’”
(Isaiah 55:8-9).

Nevertheless,
our responsibility to God is
to obey Him,
to trust Him,
and to submit to His will,
whether we understand it or not.

When we do,
we will see more clearly the magnificence and enormity
of our God
and we will say, with Job,
“My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you”
(Job 42:5).



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Next time you think you have it bad, read job.