Pride provoked

Job 1:21 (NIV)
Job said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”

The story of Job in the Bible is a difficult one for many people. I know I’ve had several conversations with people about it.

• If they’re Christian, they tiptoe around it and try to make it sound as positive as they can.
• If they’re not Christian, they use it as an argument for why they don’t believe or choose not to believe in the God of Christianity.

But why is this such a difficult story?

Why do people struggle with it so much?

As one author put it”The doctrine of God’s sovereignty, his right to do his will, provokes proud men“.

To put it plainly, we don’t want someone else in control of our lives. We want full control of our lives—we want to be the god over our destinies.

And when we’re not in control it hits us where it hurts the most—our proud. God sovereignty offends us. It knocks us off of our exalted positions and reminds us of who really is in control.

So how can we rise above this? How can we allow the Holy Spirit to use this story and the “job-like” moments in our lives to transform us into the likeness of Christ? So that we not only get through them but it actually causes us to love God more.

For those who are not Christians, you will need the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit for this. Without Him, nothing will get you there.

For those who have surrendered to Jesus, Job has a few words of wisdom for us.

We are not entitled to anything

Job said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; 

When all was taken away from Job him wisely looked all the way back to his beginnings. When he came to this earth he had nothing. So why should he expect to leave with anything more?

We must get rid of any sense of entitlement.

In the beginning, we brought nothing into this world and in the end, we can take nothing with us.

Accept the good the bad and the ugly

 

Job 2:10 (NIV) He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? ”In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

This is a difficult one. No one wants to think that God would allow difficulties to come into our lives. And if He does then that makes Him bad.

But Job understood God. Job knew that God’s very nature is good. And not only that He is good but all goodness exists in Him.

And if you understand who God is—good—then, no matter what comes, through the good and through the trouble, God is still good.

Praise through the pain

may the name of the Lord be praised

In these difficult moments, we have to reorient our hearts.

And the way to do that is to praise what you most love. If your heart loves something you will devote your affections to that thing.

I am sure Job was hurting. I am sure he didn’t enjoy the pain.

But he knew he loved God and trusted His sovereign will—so he praised Him.

I am not saying this is easy

Even as I write this there is part of me that still struggles with this.

So don’t hear me saying this is a piece of cake.

Don’t let your pride rob you of your satisfaction in God. Follow Job’s example—humble yourself before God, accept His will for your life, and love Him with all your heart soul and mind.

Job mourned. He grieved. He had many conversations with God. And we will have to do the same.

And when we do we will be able to say with Job “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”