WHY I AM ALWAYS TEMPTED TO SKIP THE BOOK OF JOB!

JOB 42:1-6: “Then Job replied to the Lord: I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance? ”Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. You said, “Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.” I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.”

OBSERVATION: Should I read the Book of Job? As I read through the Bible each year, I eventually come to the Book of Job. I have read it many, many times, and I know the story very well. The Book of Job is not an exciting book. In fact, it is a difficult book to read. So, to be completely forthcoming, I contemplate skipping over the book each time I come to it.

Reading the Book of Job is like watching the same movie over and over again. I know what is going to happen, and it is easier to avoid this tale of suffering than it is to read it year after year. Yet, God has placed the Book of Job in the Bible for an important reason. Unlike any other book in the Bible, the Book of Job is a mirror to our souls in so many ways.

First, we can identify with Job in our times of suffering and misfortune. Believers are not exempt from suffering. Suffering is not a subject we flock to, but it is important to understand the role of suffering in our lives. Suffering is like the sun shining. You can pull down the shade to avoid it, but you can never put it out. Suffering reveals the true nature of our hearts, and what we see is not always very pretty.

Second, the Book of Job shows us the real players in the suffering we experience in our lives. There is the enemy of our souls who is always accusing us before the Throne of God. There is the weakness of our sinful flesh. And, there is the well-meaning and misguided comfort of friends who offer platitudes instead of comfort, formulas instead of compassion, and canned theology instead of a vibrant faith and trust in God.

Third, the Book of Job strips away all of my ideas about God and reveals the true nature and heart of God. God is neither indifferent to our suffering nor is He the cause of it. God does not deal with us according to our sins, but He stands to call us back to Himself in His grace and mercy. What my blind eyes cannot see, what others make murky and indistinguishable, God reveals His true nature through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Job is so much more than a book that teaches us about patience in suffering. Job teaches me about myself. It forces me to look in the mirror and see myself in Job, in his friends, and finally in the heart of God. When Job’s friends have given up, when Job is exhausted and brought to the end of himself, revelation comes. God graciously and powerfully reveals Himself to Job, and Job is left speechless. Job never had a problem with words, but when he stood in the presence of Almighty God, all he could say was…

“I know that you can do anything, and no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance? ”Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. You said, “Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.” I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.”

When I stop striving, when I stop fighting, when I stop making excuses, I am standing in the place of Job. When my concepts of God are replaced with His revelation of Himself, I am standing in the place of Job. When I stop using empty platitudes to comfort those in distress and carry them into the presence of God, I am standing in the place of Job. When I realize how small I am, how Majestic, Loving, and Gracious He is, and how willing He is to forgive me, I stand in the place of Job and I am ready to receive grace and mercy in my time of need.

So, once again, I needed to read the Book of Job. I needed to painfully look in the mirror with each word I read and each speech that was given. I needed to be humbled under the mighty hand of God so that He could lift me up. Is there any wonder why the enemy of our souls wants us to skip this book? What if Job had missed God’s grace? What if Job had failed to forgive his friends? What if his friends had failed to see God’s true grace in action?

I need to read the Book of Job. The Church needs to read the Book of Job. We all need to read the Book of Job! Heavenly Father, thank you for sharing this difficult but life-transforming account of Job in his struggle, suffering, and victory. Help me to not only hear of You with the hearing of the ear…

OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART, LORD, TO SEE YOU IN ALL YOUR GLORY!

Job 42:10-12: “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and doubled his previous possessions. All his brothers, sisters, and former acquaintances came to him and dined with him in his house. They sympathized with him and comforted him concerning all the adversity the Lord had brought on him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold earring. So the Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first. He owned fourteen thousand sheep and goats, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.” CSB

In Jesus’ Name!