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After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10
The story of Job is rich with lessons for each of us as we travel this journey called life. Here’s a man who ‘did everything right’ yet lost everything he had for no apparent reason to him. He’d lost his children, all of his wealth and the intimacy of a relationship with his wife. As he sat in emotional and physical agony his so-called friends show up and give him all sorts of answers as to why things happened the way they did.
All of their wisdom really could be boiled down to this: “Job, you messed up. You are a miserable sinner that God is punishing for your pride and arrogance. Why not just confess your sin. Everyone knows that tragedy only come because of our sin.”
They were wrong of course. We have the advantage of reading the entire script for the drama and seeing all that was going on backstage. Job was an innocent man. His trials were really the result of satanic attack. God himself was testified to His innocence and holiness backstage of the drama where only heavenly beings could hear.
Job is rich with lessons for our journey of life. God is in ultimate control of all that goes on in our lives. He allows things to happen. Painful things. Tragic things. Things that bring agony for a time. While He doesn’t explain Himself, we can know from the story of Job that although the agony is horrific, it isn’t always because of our sin and it is temporary. Even if it is sickness it is temporary because as Christ-followers were aren’t home yet. Our home is a place absent of sickness, pain, tears and death.
There’s another lesson we can learn from Job. It’s a lesson about prayer. After all his friends offered up their meaningless wisdom, God appeared to the three of them. Job was vindicated and his friends chastised.
After God was seen for who He was, the Bible tells us that Job prayed for his friends. There is no indication that he was healed of his pain or restored until he prayed for them. Imagine the scene. Job is still sitting in a pile of ashes. The piece of pottery he used to scrap his boils was laying nearby. All those involved were awestruck by the very presence of God. Then, in the midst of Job’s pain he prayed for his friends!
When we are in pain and agony we may hold that pain in because we wrongfully see pain as a sign of weakness. We may ask our friends to pray for us. But Job prayed for his friends even though he, himself had yet to be healed.
As we travel this journey called life there are many setbacks and hurdles along the way. Things that will hurt us to the point where we question if we can continue on. You could be suffering from the consequences of your own sin or poor decisions. You could be bearing the physical and/or emotional bruises of abuse. There could be no known reason for why you are in the place you are.
In the midst of your pain, don’t forget the pain of others. Job’s friends were wrong. They were judgmental, critical and compassionless. We all run across those people during our lives. People we’ve trusted laughed with and loved. Yet when times grew bad they turned on us. Follow the example of Job and pray for others in the midst of your pain.
Sometimes, in order to do this you will need to forgive others for their insensitivity. Sometimes you will need to overlook the fact that they are just plain wrong. Only you and your God know your heart. Never lose sight of the fact that while they can’t see your heart, you can’t see their heart and/or motives either.
After Job prayed, God blessed him. This wasn’t a small blessing. Job had all his wealth and more restored to him. I believe that one of the reasons he was restored so completely is because of his humble willingness to pray for those who mistreated him. This can only be done through the strength of God. Don’t let the pain of your own life cause you to overlook the pain of others.
PRAYER: Father God, I don’t understand why I have to endure some of this pain that you have placed along my path. I am so tired of so-called experts who offer all sorts of advice while overlooking my own pain or understanding my agony. Help me to forgive them and pray for them. Give me words of encouragement I can offer them even though they can’t return the favor. Thank you for being in complete control of all I do and am. Help me to trust you in the darkness. Amen.
After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10
Have you ever noticed how, during the driest times of the year, the only greenery in your yard is the weeds? Why is it that when the nice, soft, green grass goes into dormancy and stress the weeds are the ones that stand strong and tall? They seem to stand out above the brown dry grass around them as if to say, “Look at me! I’m still green and healthy. And you…well….you are dead!”
People can be the same way. At those times when we are in despair or struggling to survive, there are those who ‘have all the answers’ to our dilemma. We aren’t eating right. We aren’t wearing the right clothes. We aren’t hanging with the right friends. We aren’t doing our job right.
It can even be more frustrating for us when they even throw the ‘spiritual’ angle into our pain. We need to pray more, go to a different church, attend a bible study, read a certain book, or do what Aunt Sally did when she was going through the same thing.
Job endured a similar situation with his ‘friends’. He’d lost everything he had. His wealth was gone. His kids were dead. He was covered with painful boils, and for whatever the reason, his wife had stopped supporting him emotionally. Add to that the visit from three friends who proceeded to tell Job, in all their human wisdom, why God was punishing Job.
The problem with Jobs friends, and the problem with the advice we sometimes receive, is that…well…it’s worthless! It doesn’t speak to our needs. It increases our pain and can load a boat load of guilt on us. To be fair to the ‘advice-givers’ their advice may be well-intentioned, and there may even be some truth to it.
For example, going to the right church, being involved in Bible Study and reading Gods word and having a good prayer life are all important parts of being a Christ-follower. However, doing all the right things doesn’t guarantee that life will work for us. We still encounter grief. We still get cancer. We still have to endure broken relationships. People still let us down.
In the story of Job, we have an opportunity to see what he didn’t. We see what was going on in Heaven and the discourse between God and Satan. We also see God’s impression of Job. God Himself said that Job was a man of integrity and character. In all that Job went through, God himself stated that ‘Job did not sin’ (even though Job’s friends thought otherwise).
At the end of Job’s test, God reveals Himself in a mighty and awe-inspiring way that drove Job to His knees in worship and humility. Then, God spoke to Job’s friends. He was not kind to them. But Job prayed for his friends. He wasn’t told to. That’s the way Job was.
People of integrity realize that offensive people will come their way. True Christ-followers know themselves so well that the words of thoughtless people, whether intended to be harmful or not, do not change their standing with Jesus. Because they are secure in who they are, they can pray for offensive people just as Job did. It’s not easy. It’s a lifestyle of forgiveness based on knowing that what others think of us isn’t nearly as important as what God thinks of us.
PRAYER: Holy God. I thank you today for who I am. I praise you for the fact that regardless of what others think about me, you know my heart. You understand my pain. You know my past and all the reasons I am the way that I am. I ask that you would give me patience to bear with offensive people. Help me to have the power to pray wisely for them, not for my sake, but for yours and theirs. Guard my lips as I speak to those around me as well. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 