I tweeted the following a few hours ago: While reading the book of Job this morning, I had this thought: MY LIFE IS GOOD. #thankful #fb
Yep, I’m reading the book of Job this week. Not my favorite book of the Bible, but I always gain new insight every time I read about Job’s catastrophic struggles, his self-righteous friends, and his amazing God. After reading Job, I always end up very thankful. If you feel that life is not fair, then I suggest a strong dose of Job.
Here are some thoughts I blogged after reading Job a few years ago, about the time that Typhoon Ondoy baptized Manila in floodwaters, destroying homes, wiping out businesses, and taking lives.
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1. Bad things happen to seemingly good and innocent people. Four times Job is described by God as “blameless and upright” yet he experienced horrible suffering.
2. The devil is real and he comes to “steal, kill, and destroy.” Chapter 1 makes it clear that all Job’s pain and loss was an act of the devil, not an act of God.
3. People experiencing bad times need good friends. When you have friends who are suffering, try doing what Job’s friends did in Job 2:13 “Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.”
4. Good friends often give bad counsel. Unfortunately, after that week of silence, Job’s friends opened their mouths and stuck both feet in, nasty sandals and all.
5. Some things can’t be explained and some “why” questions can’t be answered. The book of Job never answers the “why” question. But it does paint a good picture of “how”—how to find God in our pain and how to respond to calamity in a way that honors God.
6. We can find God in our pain and loss if we do what Job did when he realized the extent of his loss—“then he fell to the ground in worship. . .” (Job 1:20) Do we only worship God in the good times?
7. In the end, the blessing of God caught up with and overtook Job. Most people don’t press through and read the whole book of Job. But if you endure till the end, you will find that “the Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former” (Job 42:12). And if we endure past our pain, we will find God in the end.
