Life Lessons from Job

Life Lessons from Job

Most people know the basics about Job. Even non-Christians will use the phrase “patience of Job”. He went through all kinds of struggles, but in the end, Job never cursed God. He never turned his back on God. Recently as I was reading through Job, I was struck by three other life lessons.

First, we don't always know what we are talking about. Every time I read the book of Job I cannot help but reflect on the advice given by Job’s “friends”. Taken out of context, the words that these men share with Job are actually very wise. They refer to the greatness of God, how God disciplines, and how no one can know the mind of God. All these themes are very true. So what is the problem? The problem is these men are speaking to Job from a perspective in which they have no background knowledge. They are accusing Job falsely because they don’t know the whole story. They are unaware of the conversation that took place between God and satan. They are unaware that the very reason Job is going through these struggles is not because of the sin in his life but because of the righteousness in his life. Out of context, the advice looks good. Within the context, it is terrible.

Job’s friends’ advice reminds me of the danger we often put ourselves in when we judge others and circumstances around us. How often do we not know the whole story or see the big picture? Have you ever found yourself complaining about decisions made by your boss, board, supervisor, those in leadership, minister, elders, or even friends? We don’t always know the circumstances surrounding those decisions. We cannot always see the big picture. Before we speak the next time, maybe we should spend more time in prayer. God just may tell us to remain silent.

Second, God won't always explain everything. I am surprised that in the end God doesn’t even explain to Job why Job went through these great tragedies (Job 38-41). He simply reminds Job who is in control, who created the universe, who has the greater mind, and who is able to see all. God’s response puts everything into perspective. It reminds Job that all he has is from God in the first place. Job did nothing to earn any of it, but God never explains why He gave it and why He took away. Why did He not tell Job? Maybe it was because Job wouldn’t understand. Maybe it was because that wasn’t the focus. Maybe it was because it was no longer important. I don’t know and don’t claim to know. I do know that God loves us, desires a relationship with us, and wants the best for us (Romans 8, I Peter 5:7, John 10:10). What I see is that God may allow me to go through difficulties without ever explaining why, and He doesn’t it owe it to me. He may choose to tell me, or He may choose to remain silent. I just remain faithful like Job.

Third, blessings come after forgiveness. Job’s prosperity was not restored until Job forgave and prayed for his friends (Job 42:7-17). Did you catch that? God didn’t restore Job’s wealth before but after Job prayed for and forgave his friends. I don’t want to take something out of context or use one verse to make a point. However, I truly believe there is a strong correlation between us forgiving others and God restoring us (Matthew 6:14-15; Colossians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 2:10; Matthew 6:12; Mark 11:25; Luke 11:4; John 20:23; Matthew 18:21-35).

Job’s story is one of forgiveness and obedience. Job’s friends falsely accused him of an unrighteous life. They attacked him when he was down instead of supporting him. I’m sure that we can all relate to a friend or colleague who falsely accused us of saying or doing something that never happened. These accusations may have caused us to fall out of favor with those around us. We may be praying for the suffering to end or even for God to deal with our enemies. When we read Job’s story, we find that in the end God doesn’t crush these men like most of us would want. He places their forgiveness in Job’s hand. Job could have rejected their pleas for forgiveness (sacrifices). Job could have asked God to destroy these men, but Job was obedient to pray for these friends who had falsely accused him during his darkest days. He sought God’s forgiveness for them. Once Job spoke on their behalf, God forgave the friends and blessed Job. Have we missed out on God’s blessings because of our lack of obedience to forgive others? God is waiting for us to obediently forgive others and then we too may be showered with His blessings. (Defining God's blessings will need to be a whole other blog.)

Our work life can be full of scenarios where it all seems to come down around us. We may feel like Job with one problem after another occurring. We may have “friends” who are unsupportive during these times. Will we respond with faith like Job ultimately did? Will we rely on the promises that God is in charge and He wants the best relationship with us as possible? If we do, we can continue to be obedient to God’s command to forgive those around us. When we are obedient, we may be just experience blessings showered on us by God just like Job.