By Mike Chaffin
16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. 17 So Job died, old and full of days. Job 42:16-17
After this. How often have we looked forward to “after something”? After I get well, after I get married, after I retire, after I start earning more. After has a large space in many of our vocabularies and life plans. But should it? We will revisit that after a bit.
Job is considered to be the oldest book in the Bible. Penned by Moses it tells the story of a time of testing Job went through. Job lost his children, his livestock, and his health. It didn’t seem fair since Job was a righteous man. In fact, God told the Devil that Job was the most righteous man on the earth.
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” Job 1:8
Satan told God the only reason Job was righteous was because he had it too good. If he lost it all Job would curse God to His face!
God allowed Satan to strip Job of everything he had. Herds gone. Children killed. Health destroyed. This would be enough to drive a person to curse, but the Bible states.
In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. Job 1:22
Notice Job was righteous before all this happened and he was righteous after his kids and herds were lost. He was righteous through his horribly painful sickness. He did get depressed and wonder why he was born. He didn’t think he deserved all this pain and suffering and wanted to ask God why. God answered him in a way that shows us that God is God, and we aren’t. Job sees the folly of his bitterness, and his complaining spirit.
Because Job realized questioning God, feeling sorry for himself, and complaining weren’t bringing him closer to God but further, he repents. After this God restores Job’s health, family, and wealth.
The last word in Job tells us not to wait until after something to live for God with your whole heart. God shows us that in good and bad, whether busy or idle, a righteous attitude, filled with faith and hope, is the way to joyful life.
Prayer: Lord thank you for showing us in the story of Job that you are in control. In good times and bad you hear our prayers, and you have us in the palm of your hand. Lord it is easy to be joyful when things are going well, help me to remember that the best course of action when things go wrong is to not ask why, but to continue to look to you for help, provision, and healing, staying steadfast in faith and righteousness. In Jesus Name, Amen.
