July 24 Job 1:21

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DAILY READING

Job 1:21

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REFLECTION

Who's In Charge Here?

By Gene Pierce

"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."

Job 1:21

The facts in the story of Job are plain: Job, a wealthy, successful man, loses his entire family and fortune after Satan’s scheming. Rather than curse God for his troubles, Job keeps his faith.

Is God manipulated by Satan? No. God does not yield to Satan’s power. Job is tested mightily but is not destroyed – his faith is resolute – and he is restored in the end. Satan does not win his “challenge.”

Job’s experience also points us straight to Jesus.  Satan challenges Jesus, too, in the wilderness and on the cross. Jesus' faith is resolute, too, and his resurrection shows God conquers even death, something Job did not experience here. 

In another prefiguring of Jesus, Job's prayer in this verse, "no matter what you give or take from me, I will bless you, Lord," follows the heart of Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, "not my will but yours, Lord."

There is one last lesson to consider. Skip to the end of the book to read Job’s classic words of faith: “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.” (Job 42:5).

These words tell us that Job realized that he had previously only “heard” about God’s steadfast love -- from others. After going through these terrible losses, Job could truly say he had “seen” God's steadfast love himself – and therefore could not nor would not curse God for his troubles.  

Bottom line, like Job, we all have times when we can look back and see how God was faithful in our hard times. Job's example of faith shows us that we can count on God's steadfast love, no matter the hardship or challenge, in this world and the next.

Prayer

Lord, we praise you that your steadfast love conquers all and that you will be with us when we walk through the waters or the fire. (Isaiah 43:2) Give us the wisdom to see you and trust in you only, regardless of our circumstances -- especially the hardest ones.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gene Pierce is a longtime member of UALC and our International Missions Committee and former Council member, still learning how to balance life, work and faith. Gene and his wife Elaine are blessed to be parents of four and grandparents of nine.