The story of Job can feel…puzzling? Troubling? Like a train wreck I can’t look away from? How else can I describe it? Maybe it’s too relatable sometimes and we want to pretend that this type of suffering doesn’t exist.
Job was not a distinguished leader of the church. He was a pretty regular guy. He was financially well off and had a large family. But his greatest asset of all was the faith he had in God. God recognized his great faith. Job experiences great suffering, everything from losing his health and wealth to losing his family. His world was turned over entirely. And yet, he believed. His faith didn’t waver from God.
Job never gave up on God. Never cursed Him. Never gave into the peer pressure or temptation to blame God for his sufferings. And Job gained more than he had lost through the Father.
Suffering, pain, and hardships happen to all of us on earth. But Job is our example that no matter our circumstances in life, we can keep our faith in Jesus. We will be delivered from our troubles. We will experience something far greater one day if we continue to trust, pray, and stay near to God.
The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. Job 42:12