A Personal Reflection on Job
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“How do I prepare myself for the trials that are destined to come?”
The Book of Job is so vast and deep that there was really only one way to fit the study into two weeks; that was to focus on the things that seemed most relevant to his faith in the face of evil. As a righteous remnant, Job’s life provides us with so much insight into spiritual warfare and what it means to undergo trial.
Job proved to be an incredible ensample of how to live righteously despite the pain of hell being unleashed on your life. We have discussed repeatedly that it is inevitable that the mission minded believer will face trial and tribulation as a matter of course.
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
As we said in the study, Satan is a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour. While we personally are unlikely to encounter Satan directly, he has more than enough manpower to ensure that we will face hostility and suffering as a direct result of our faith.
The question I kept personally wrestling with as I studied Job was how do I prepare myself for the trials that are destined to come? Clearly, Job is a unique individual, and I pray I never face the pain that he faced. But just the same, I want to have the faith necessary to endure all hardships, big or small, that meet me in my mission.
James 5:10-11 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
As we wrap up the “How to Be a Righteous Remnant” series, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on some things God has been pressing on my heart from the study of Job. As I look at Job’s life, there are some distinct takeaways that are showing me how to run the race of my faith with greater endurance and patience.
“If I want to see myself rightly, I have to get… an encounter with the living God.”
Who the Heck Am I?
If you remember, after Job suffered the loss of his wealth, health, and family, he found himself doing the only thing that seemed reasonable: worshipping God. He was humble, and he worshiped earnestly. It wasn’t until he started chatting with his friends that he found himself distracted from his faith. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar accuse Job of being an unrepentant sinner. Job was offended by his friend’s slanderous words and character assassinations and his pride began to rise up out of the ashes. Before he knew it, he was engaged in argumentation intended to defend his righteous testimony.
People’s perceptions of me are just a trap for vanity (Ps 39:5). When I was young, I was plagued with a desire to be seen as valuable, worthy, and capable. I needed affirmation from my peers and those in my life that I respected. In my own way, like Job, I was concerned about a good reputation and the acceptance of my friends. Young men in particular are often absorbed by a need to prove their importance and integrity. Job himself gets caught in this cycle, and it undermines the one thing he had going for him: worship with no pretense.
For Job, it took an encounter with God cloaked by a whirlwind to jog his senses and bring him back into a more perfect state of humility. What will it take for me to see that I am actually “vile” in comparison to the exceptional power and grace of God?
As I age, I actually do care less about what people think (a genuine emotional relief), but it doesn’t mean I have completely conquered my need for approval. Just like most people, I am still prone to justifying my worth by what I do, say, or how I look. But what I have learned alongside the humility of age and experience is that every ounce of my worth is wrapped up in what God says I am—his child and his friend.
This leads me to the next thing I learned from Job: If I want to see myself rightly, I have to get what Job got in the whirlwind that day, an encounter with the living God.
“I have to convince myself that I love to do hard things…”
Better than a Whirlwind
Job did not have the privilege of a faith informed by God's written word. The only promises he could rely on were primarily teachings handed down by the prophets his age through oral recitation or scribal documents. Nonetheless, Job had a fragmented knowledge of who God was. So when God speaks to him from out of a whirlwind, he is genuinely encountering God in a way that he never had before—through the very words of God. It was a shocking experience that altered everything about him. After that moment, he saw himself differently. After that moment, he was bolstered and more devoted to worship. After that moment, his faith was increased.
How is it that we have a complete word of God, written and bound, and yet we hardly observe its power? Oh sure, we confess that the Bible is God’s inspired word but our passions and interests don’t reflect what we actually believe. We aren’t thirsty for it’s refreshing and revitalizing power. We aren’t eager to warm ourselves by its fire. We don’t believe that its pages contain more truth and power than even that thrashing tempest witnessed by Job and his four friends. If we did, what might that mean for us as end-time believers? How might it empower us to endure through the most difficult times? How might it deplete our doubts? How might it inspire awe?
I don’t even resemble half the man I see in Job. I picture his circumstances in my mind, and I shutter. It causes me to ask myself a few questions: Do I have the resolve to be a righteous remnant? Can I endure in my generation whatever may befall me? Do I have the spiritual strength to stand in a world that is eager to see me fall? I shrink as I consider the weakness of my flesh and poverty of my faith.
If I desire to build my faith for endurance, I have to decide to train my faith for endurance. This begins with addressing the area of personal interest in my life. Just like a runner training for a marathon, I have to forego things I used to spend my time doing in order to train. Not only that, but I have to convince myself that I love to do hard things, like run and sweat and be hot. This might be hard in the beginning but long term it becomes instinct. Where our interests go, so go our instincts.
Are your interests peaked by talking whirlwinds? Pick up your Bible until its promises become your instinct.
“If our prayer life was as natural as breathing, eating, and sleeping, who might we become?”
The Sanctuary of Prayer
The other thing is prayer; I have always felt this was the weakest discipline in my life. As I said before, I grew up finding my worth in stuff I accomplished and how I was perceived, so sitting silently on my knees for extensive lengths of time has at times seemed counterintuitive to a philosophy of “getting stuff done.” I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Job was a man of prayer. It was of particular interest to him to speak and commune with God for and about souls (Job 1:5). The place of supplication was a familiar one to Job and in his darkest hour would be his natural retreat. Job was at his very best when he was in prayer when it was his only conceivable option.
When a trial comes, for most of us, it’s our natural tendency to look for the quickest exit, the best strategy, the path of least resistance. We want a creative answer to our problems, a moment of epiphany. We want to negotiate our own deliverance and are preposterous enough to insist God should bless our schemes. But if we are forthright with ourselves, when the storm comes howling at our window and the enemy circles, humble supplication is the only option.
So, we turn to prayer because God is all-powerful and judicious. We turn to prayer because we sense our own insufficiency. We retreat in prayer because all things are possible. Suppose then we discovered the truths of prayer and exercised them daily and hourly, how might that transform our lives? If our prayer life was as natural as breathing, eating, and sleeping, who might we become?
The common cord that binds our friends Noah, Daniel, and Job is that they were all men of prayer. Noah’s altar, Daniel before his open window, and Job amidst the ashes. Men of strength, virtue, and endurance. May prayer transform us into men like these.
There is so much to say and so much to learn concerning the men in this series. I pray their faith continues to teach us how to live righteously despite living in a wicked world among a wicked generation.
Brandon Briscoe is the pastor over C&YA and oversees Living Faith Books publishing.