We share a common pitfall.
By “we” I mean this pastor and almost every one who will read this brief article. And by “pitfall” I am referring to a common practice that is less than accurate or honest. It is our tendency to take the sum of whatever trials we might be facing and link them, somehow, to the proverbial and enduring legacy of the patience of Job. Not, mind you, that we are seeking to demonstrate his patient dependence upon God, but rather that we think our difficulties somehow equate to what he endured. Now THAT’S a big stretch!
Just recall what Job had to deal with. In Job 1:13-19 we find that in the course of one afternoon, Job lost his wealth and all his children. Following that, 2:7 tells how the poor man was struck with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And, if that wasn’t enough, his wife made sure to show him her supportive side when she said,“Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”
Yes, I believe comparing anything I face to what Job faced is a pitfall for sure.
In fact, friends, it seems pretty clear to me that if I were to take ALL the trials that have come into the life of Elim Baptist Church lately—the economic problems, the sicknesses, even the deaths—they would not add up to what this one man faced in his life. Yet, what was his response? He said to his wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” And the author of the book points out that in all this Job did not sin with his lips.
How is that possible?! I, mean, really, as a pastor it is rightly expected that I should model what it means to live as a child of God, and this kind of response seems waaayyy beyond me! But, even as I study it, there seems to be a clue (often overlooked) that just might help us respond more like Job and react less like the people in the world around us.
He believed that “good” came from God.
Now, please don’t dismiss that statement as moot or inconsequential. The Bible actually makes a point of teaching that the source of good is God and God alone. The Psalms are loaded with such references. Take Psalm 84:11, for instance:
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
And any look into this topic must include the clear statement of James 1:17, which declares:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Chances are, no one reading this article would argue with me that God is the source of good, but the fact is that we live as though it were not true! Oh, we know that God Himself is good, and that anything He does is good, but we don’t keep in the front of our hearts and minds the fact that anything good we have, know, receive, etc., must come from Him!
That is what Job understood so clearly, and it was evidently the basis of his “patience.” What he knew and believed about God, and about God’s goodness, informed his steps and speech each day. In fact, those truths informed his living MORE than the circumstances that surrounded him!
- God was good when Job had cattle and servants; God was good when they were all taken away.
- God was good when Job’s children were feasting together; God was good when those children died.
- God was good when Job had his health; God was good when Job was stricken with putrid illness.
The one constant is that God is good. Circumstances went “up and down.” The way Job felt physically, emotionally, and even spiritually, changed frequently, but God did not change for He cannot change!.
Now, here’s the best part of the application from all of this. It is a fairly safe bet that none of us will face the same type of all-encompassing, far-reaching personal devastation that afflicted Job. After all, the Bible tells us that he was a direct target of Satan himself! So I have no trouble in declaring that we dive headlong into a “pitfall” when we even try to connect our bundle of burdens to that of Job. But we do NOT have to experience that level of misery to know and benefit from the fact that God is good! He does not change, and in the whirlwind of life His goodness remains an anchor for His children to grasp with confidence.
You will not always be able to “see” His goodness. On the day of his children’s death it is not said that Job felt fine or that he did not grieve. All he saw was what everyone else saw—death. But what he knew was that God was good, and he did not have to see it in order to believe it! This is where the walk of faith comes into play. It is NOT faith in some vague idea or a tenuous hold on some source of energy or whatever. No, when a person chooses to respond to life based on what is known to be true about God regardless of circumstances, he or she is living by faith! And it is not just something for Job and his legendary “patience.” It is for us as well:
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him (2 Corinthians 5:6-9).
Posted on April 1st, 2009 by Pastor Larry
Filed under: From the Pastor’s Pen