Like Job did

I want you to think about how you react when you hit rock bottom. One thing about rock bottom is that it is different for everyone. For some, it's failing a test. For others, it's a break up with a significant other. For the rest, it's when things just seem to not go your way.

When those things are happening how are you reacting? Are you looking to get pleasure from something else? Do you curse the Lord? Do you have bad intentions to do something you're going to regret?

It looks different for everyone. For some reason, the story of Job was one of those stories I remember learning as a kid and I will never forget it. I always thought when I was growing up, that it was pretty unique that I remembered this story rather than other well known stories or characters in the bible.

I believe the reason for me remembering such an important story was the meaning behind it. I remember thinking to myself, if I lost everything I would freak out. What I remembered most was that no matter how bad things get in life, never blame God.

Who is Job? Some of you might not know....Job was a wealthy man of upright character who loved God. Yet God allowed Satan to destroy his flocks, his possessions, his children, and his health. Job refused to give up on God, even though he did not understand what was happening to him. We, too must trust God when we do not understand the difficulties we face.

Job was said to me the greatest man among all the people in the East. He feared God and shunned evil. He has seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three hundred camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and give hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants.

As we take a look at the book of Job in my next couple of posts, we have information that Job does not. We know that Job lost everything he had through no fault of his own as he struggled to understand why all this was happening to him, it became clear that he was not meant to know all the reasons. He would have to face life with the answers and explanations held back.

We must experience life as Job did - one day at a time and without complete answers to all of life's questions.

One of the most interesting details about this story is that God and Satan have a conversation. God brings up Job and tells Satan about how blameless and upright he is. Satan makes a remark at God about how Job will certainly curse God if Satan takes away everything from him. God said go ahead, "everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."


This conversation between God and Satan teaches us an important fact about God - he is fully aware of every attempt by Satan to bring suffering and difficulty upon us. While God may allow us to suffer for a reasons beyond our understanding, he is never caught by surprise by our troubles and is always compassionate.

So what ends up happening to Job and how does he react?

In a matter of a day...here is what happened:

- the Sabeans attacked and made off with all of Job's donkeys and oxen, and killed all the servants who were watching over them
- a fire burned all of his sheep and the servants watching them
- the Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on all of Job's camels killing them and the servants watching them
- Job's sons and daughters and their families were feasting and drinking and their house collapsed and killed them all

Everything that Job had worked for and that he had been given by God was taken away. That is rock bottom. What Job does next is astonishing.

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: 

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord had taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised."

In all this, Job did not sin by charing God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:20-22)

Job did not hide his overwhelming grief. He had not lost his faith in God; instead, his emotions showed that he was human and that he loved his family.

God created our emotions, and it is not sinful or inappropriate to express them as Job did. If you have experienced a deep loss, a disappointment, or a heartbreak, admit your feelings to yourself and to others, and grieve.

When you hit rock bottom it's fine to admit that you need help and are hurt. That is a sign of humbling yourself before God and really showing that you need God and rely on Him to get you back on your feet.

More than tearing his robe and shaving his head, Job falling to the ground was the ultimate grieving moment. When we are on our feet, we can run from our problems. We can walk to our cars and drive away from our problems as well. When we are on your feet that is a sign of you trying to act like you are okay. It is okay to fall on the ground and grieve over something that is sad. It's the ultimate sign of  saying, "I need you God."

With that, I challenge you to live like Job did. It will be tough, but he never once blamed God when he lost everything that he had. Instead, he recognized that the Lord gives and the Lord takes, and that we should always praise the name of the Lord.