The Truths from Job:

Recently I have been reading the book of Job in the Bible during my devotionals in the morning.  I knew the book of Job was a good representation of how to act when in suffering, but rereading this book after I have experienced some of my own trials, I am even more invested and have learned more and more from Job. I will mention three main lessons that I personally learned from the book of Job.  There are countless others, but these are the three I want to highlight.  

One verse that stood out to me was Job 27: 3-4, “As long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not say anything wicked, and my tongue will not utter lies.”  Job had everything taken from him.  He all of sudden lost most of his livestock, his workers, his children and his health.  He was completely devastated.  This would be so easy to speak with hostility.  It would be so easy to start spewing hate or curses.  Job had to feel as though he was cursed, yet he refused to let those cursing thoughts go from his mouth.  He refused to say anything against God, and he refused to let his character go downhill, even though his life situation had. 

I will be very honest when I say, I struggle with my words.  I try so hard to get control of them, but when I am angry, I will often swear a lot underneath my breath or even vent and talk ugly about someone/something that has angered me.  This is not something I am proud of, and I am hoping it is something I can grow in.  Even this last week, I had a terrible day at work.  I was upset a majority of the day, and I swore a lot.  After I said a few of the swear words while venting, I decided to keep going.  Who cared?  I already swore today.  Then my mood just continued to get worse and worse.  I realized I did not care about the promise that Job made and not allowing any wickedness to pass through my lips and my tongue not giving any lies.  I want this verse to become a new mantra for me in the future.  

Another verse is Job 19: 25, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.”  Again, Job has been through every bad item. He has gone through so much, yet he was so filled with joy about his future to come.  He knew, no matter how much he had suffered, that his redeemer, which is God himself, had a plan and knew he would ultimately be victorious over any evil in the world. Even though his life was ruined, he can look towards the real part of life that matters, and this would be the redemption and the saving of God, his Father. 

Something to realize about this particular truth of Job is that this was written before Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins.  He did not have this particular story of Jesus dying and winning over evil.  All he had was the prophecy that one day a redeemer would come. Job had complete faith, and it shows, even amidst his extreme suffering.  Job had complete faith that evil would not win.  The evil and the pain of the world would not persevere because God was in complete control.  I will admit that I often can forget how much sovereignty my God possesses.  However, I can see that if Job was able to have faith in trying times, then so can I.  

Another truth that came towards the end of this book was found in Job 42:3, “You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without my knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”  Job admitted in that moment that he does not understand all of God’s plans, like none of us do.  Job described God’s plan as something more wonderful than even he could understand.  Job knew that even though he was not enjoying his life in the present moment, he knew that God was in complete control.  

The best part of all of this was that God really blessed Job towards the end of his life, even more than he had initially blessed him before everything was taken from him.  This can serve as an encouragement that God has a plan that is filled with more wonderful things that we could ever know.  I know I personally have been struggling a lot with believing in God’s sovereignty.  Sometimes I can only see two steps ahead of me and when those steps seem bad, I can become discouraged.  There may be dark times in the future, but I can not even comprehend the wonder in the ultimate future.    

I have known the book of Job is a book that showcases dependence on God amongst the struggles and pains of life.  However, I had no idea that the story of Job showcased how to also create your morals even in the midst of struggle.  I had no idea it could be used as a way of looking to God for complete sovereignty and complete faith.  Life is not always easy.  There can be trials, sadness, tears, but through God we can learn to all experience joy.  There are things we do not understand, but God wants us to trust him so we can have complete love and hope.  My challenge for you is to read over the book of Job.  I am challenging you to find any life-truths that are in this book of the Bible.