I can't help but wonder sometimes if God listens to our ramblings from up above and finds amusement in our nonsense. As readers of Job, we have the benefit of knowing why Job has faced such difficult life circumstances. Unfortunately for him, he thought that the adversity was a result of his own actions. The reality, however, is that his adversity was a result of an enemy trying to take Job from God's hand. It's really easy for me to forget that any enemy exists and that his desire is for me to be as far away from God as possible. Instead of realizing this truth, Job blames himself for the situation ("Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray" – 6:24) and his friend Bildad affirms Job in this misunderstanding. The reality is that we do have an enemy, and Jesus says in John 10:10 that he comes to steal, kill and destroy. With that in mind, it would be to our advantage to stay on the lookout.
I like the way this reading ends with Job's remarks about our inability to understand the workings of God. We can learn of God's character by studying His Word, but we will never fully understand the entirety of Him because we are but the creation. What creation is more intelligent than the one who created it? In my estimation: none.
On the flip, it’s amazing how many people falsely relate themselves to Job. We make choices, sow our own seeds to the flesh, and wonder why we have a ginormous mess on our hands. We want to lay the blame on others around us and even sometimes even God. Some go as far to say, “Satan must really have it out for me.” We must be in a constant state of self-examination and communication with the Lord. Simply asking God to reveal truth to us should be the first request when things go tragically wrong.
Another lesson of Job, is how to relate to the person who is going through the crisis. Job’s wife was distraught and angry, I’d be too! She’d just suffered everything Job had. She obviously wasn’t as close to the Lord as Job (How many of us are?) and she acted on high emotions. Job’s friends seemed to be “fixers”. Let’s git-er-done fellows, who most likely wanted to see an end to Job’s misery and get him started back on the right track. How often do we act frantically on emotion or swoop in and try to fix the problem when a friend or relative is in despair? Stop. Drop. And Pray. Go back to the simple act of asking the Lord to reveal the truth and ask Him to guide you in what your role should be in encouraging, comforting, and/or co-mourning.
Thank you for your challenge to all of us to commit to a year of going through the entire Bible. I must say that I’m struggling with it. I want to do it because I know that it would be a good thing. I guess part of me is afraid I’ll be letting God down if I fail to follow through. Like you said on Sunday, we always have time for what we make important to us. Why is it so hard to pick up His word?
Jen, thanks for the honesty of your comment. I truly believe that God will take whatever time He can get from us! If you’re not able to keep up with the readings, I would encourage you to do your best and stay as current as possible. I just talked to my mom this evening, and she is a year and a half into her 1 year bible! But she’s sticking with it to the end, even though she’s a little behind. I think that we have a hard time picking up God’s Word because we don’t always see how it applies to us. Before I read I usually pray and ask God to open His Word up to me so I can understand what He wants me to learn. I hope that helps, and I hope you will stay encouraged through all of this! I’m encouraged by the number of people who are excited about giving this a try!