Today’s Theme: Lessons to Learn From the Story of Job
Audio Option
Please click on the audio player below to listen to today’s message. You can fast-forward past the intro and get straight to the message by clicking the play button, and then the 30-second fast-forward button on the audio player. Thank you!
Scripture
If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,’ I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent. Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?
Job 9:27-29
Reflection
[Transcript From Breaking Bread With Natasha Podcast]
Okay, folks, let’s get deep into this story of Job. If you can, grab your Bible and something to take notes. There’s some Old Testament, New Testament, old school, new school, and modern-day tie-ins that we’re to analyze, learn, and apply from our study of this story. Whether you believe the man and story to be truth or fiction, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is what you get and apply from the story.
Job hit some pretty rough patches and super deep valleys, and there were some nail-biting moments where you can’t help but say, “Whew, I’m glad I’m not Job…” or “I don’t think I could’ve survived that.” You might even find yourself wondering, “Uh, why did God allow Satan to test and torment Job for so long and with such great intensity?”
In Job 9, we read his counterargument to Bildad the Shuhite, one of his three friends, who was trying to speak some sense into Job (read chapter 8), and although Bildad said that God restores the righteous, he (along with Eliphaz and Zophar) had been taught that God only punished or allowed to be punished, people who were guilty of sin.
They couldn’t believe Job when he repeatedly said he was innocent and hadn’t sinned. Even if their minds could conceive that the attack was by Satan (which readers of this story know to be true), they still would think that somehow Job deserved it if God hadn’t immediately intervened and restored him (which is what many people still think today). In their minds and reasoning, Job just needed to repent to God, atone for his sins, and then all would be well. Which, too, is what many of us say and believe; because it must be that we’re overlooking a sin, we still have something to prove to God, and that’s why we’re not living a life of peace, harmony, enlightenment, and abundance.
Some people wonder what they “did to deserve” a life of extreme poverty and violence. Society still has a tendency to blame or shame the victims of rape, molestation, trafficking, and other cruelties. What do we hear people say, “Well, what did they do to cause that to happen?” Or “Well, what was she wearing when she got raped?” We’ve continued to build an argument that one sin must have triggered the bigger sin.
But it’s not just the external acts of other humans that lead us to question guilt or innocence. Think about people facing life-threatening diagnoses and prognoses who wonder what they did to deserve this. There are people who wonder what they or their innocent child could have possibly done to deserve the agonizing moments when that child suffers through medical treatments and setbacks. Some parents wonder what they did to deserve the death of their young child. Some believe they’re being punished, and they just want to know what they did wrong so they can make it right, so they can be redeemed and restored.
That’s exactly the sentiments of Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar.
Job was arguing in chapter 9 that no human is righteous before God. Well, in one part, that is true because no one is the “all-ness” of righteousness— even Jesus corrected disciples that called him good and right, for only God is the fullness of these. But from the stories shared in the Bible, we see that those individuals who chose to put God first were referred to as righteous. They were making the right choice, first and always. We know that Job was righteous because God said so when speaking to Satan (Job 1:1,8 and Job 2:3). But of course, Job nor his friends knew about this conversation. Had Job known, he would’ve buckled down and gritted through, trusting and praising God the entire time. He would want to prove he could successfully pass the tests of Satan to prove the strength of his relationship with God. Just as we would do the same.
We can see the account of Noah, who God called righteous (Gen. 6:9 and Gen. 7:1), but Job could’ve said, “Yeah, but Noah didn’t lose his family or his health and well-being. God protected Noah, all while keeping him intact with his family. I’ve lost everything but my sanity.” There’s several other stories in the Bible, like Daniel and people in the New Testament era, but Job had long passed away before they came around, so I won’t list those references here.
Job argues that no one could lawyer their way through His court of law, as God was the judge, jury, prosecutor, and executioner. He didn’t know that hundreds of years later, Jesus would be the redeemer of his people. But how many of us would be moved by a futuristic prophecy that’s to come at some unknown time? We believe things once we see them, even if it’s too late to change our behavior for redemption. Many of us don’t believe the prophecy of Jesus’s second coming. So, we’ll wait to change once we see his arrival. Hmmm…
Job outlined all of the ways he could think he was right, and God could slam him for being wrong. Job thought God was unfairly, maybe even vindictively, punishing him. How many of us fall into that trapped mindset?
We know that other humans, in their warped sense of entitlement, righteousness, and self-importance, tend to place a heavy weight on their interpretation of justice and who has the authority to exact punishment. But do we think that God switches up and lets the innocent suffer while showing mercy to the wicked?
I mean, let’s back up for a moment. God did authorize Satan to test Job, and through the testing, there was a direct attack. This attack wasn’t for a few days, weeks, or months. We’re talking about years of increasingly more horrific traumas. So Job isn’t far off from the truth, but it’s still not the truth. Job was living in the era where God was punishing the Israelites for their sinful ways, allowing them to live in exile, be conquered by other nations, etc. And we have to be realistic, not all of the people were sinning, but enough of them were to cause them all to be clumped together. Shouldn’t only the sinners be punished? Shouldn’t the ones who remained faithful to God be rewarded and untouched?
In lines 27 through 29, Job gave the example that even if he told God that he would forget the complaint he had about how awful his life was and made the choice to smile and be cheerful, he would still be miserable and in pain because God wouldn’t find him innocent, so if he’s already guilty then what’s the purpose of struggling in vain to prove his innocence? He desperately wanted God to see and acknowledge him as innocent.
Can you see this tie-in to Jesus?
Jesus was pure and innocent yet was tested for years, punished, and suffered greatly by those he was there to redeem. He even sacrificed his life for those who had actually sinned and betrayed God. The people didn’t know that they, too, were being tested.
Satan was the sinner who wanted to attack an innocent person. Satan was jealous and wanted to destroy the relationship Job had with God, just as we read of the torn relationship between God and His children in the Garden of Eden— a plot executed by Satan. Satan even tried to destroy the relationship between Jesus and God, trying to tempt Jesus with all of the trappings most men, then and now, would fall into. If Satan could just get Jesus to bow down and worship him, then the relationship between God and Jesus would’ve been destroyed, as would be the attempt to save and redeem humankind.
Job was in one of those deep levels of shame —in that stage that most of us fall into, and many of us are succumbed. We blame ourselves, others, and even God. We tell ourselves all the ways we are worthless and all of the reasons why God is punishing us. All while not hearing His voice speaking Truth to our lies.
God wants a relationship with us. He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to choose Him first and always, no matter the circumstances. He wants us to be responsible and accountable so we can handle the calling on our lives and the Truth of who and what we are. He wants our focus on faith and hope, not blame and shame. When we choose the latter two options, we blot out in our minds God’s Truth and all that He has said to us and promised us, and we substitute in destructive thoughts that shrink and minimize us. We don’t even realize we are reciting the words being spoken to us by the enemy. There’s a spirit that is actively feeding you that nonsense, and in your overwhelmed and weakened state, your discernment is miscalibrated.
Your horrific circumstances may be facts, but they aren’t your truth.
That’s what Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar were desperately trying to help Job see and embrace, but because they, too, didn’t understand God’s will, ways, and heart— they could only partially align their counsel with His Truth. As long as they saw the evidence of Job’s circumstances as being his fault and not a test by Satan of his character and relationship with God, Job would remain in defensive mode and grow more resentful. Job was too consumed by the flesh and what was happening to him in the natural. And who are we to point fingers at him?
I’ve been reading over some old reflections from 2010 through 2012. It’s awkward because it doesn’t feel that long ago, yet it does. I think of the things I was worried and complaining about, and naturally, I compared them to my present, and I won’t lie—some guilt crept in. The things I struggled with then are nothing in comparison to the rollercoaster ride that I was dealing with in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and what felt like nonstop loops in years 2021 and 2022. I’m being reminded that through it all, there have only been two constants: God and change.
I’m also reminded of the family members and friends who prayed for me, even when they didn’t fully know what I was going through. They just loved me enough to pray. I noticed that when you pray for others, and you’re open to God’s reality, your problems, issues, and pain seem to be more bearable. You’re not focused on yourself and listening to the voice of the accuser that points out every teeny tiny thing that isn’t ideal, perfect, and right in your life. When you’re focused on someone or something else, you put that voice in time-out.
I don’t know about you, but something else that I experience is when I listen to uplifting music, the sun seems to shine brighter outside, the light on the trees seems to glisten more on the leaves, I begin to notice things that I overlooked, and I can’t help but to smile. I’m not looking for the flaws, I’m not anticipating bad weather, I’m not expecting the “other shoe to drop.” No, as one song pours into another, I fill with hope, gladness, and gratitude.
As we walk through valleys, struggle to climb up mountainsides, get knocked down, and work to get back up, instead of grimacing in the complaint and focusing on what sucks, let’s smile in anticipation of standing in victory and declare it as so.
There is great power in our words. We are literally tapping into God, the Source, and bringing forth that which we speak. We can manifest great things once we understand who and what we are. But even then, we must remember our purpose and place. No matter how much power you can wrangle, God is your provider. He is the Source of all that you have and desire. And no matter how big or small your problem—God is your problem solver. He’s already handled it. He’s just waiting on you to catch up—slow poke!
Wow, now isn’t that something to smile about?
Enjoy this beautiful day, take in all of your blessings, breathe in all of God’s greatness, and smile. This is YOUR experience. It ain’t always pretty, but it’s worth every moment. Live it intentionally!
And take in these words that I pray for me, for you, for us.
Prayer
Father-Mother God, there are days when it gets tough, and my shoulders feel as though they can’t carry much more of the weight. There are days when I feel alone, lost, too uncomfortable to rest, and too tired to think straight. Today, I may walk into all sorts of unknowns, but one thing I will change is my perception that I’m in this alone—for I know, and You have proven countless times that You are always with me.
So today, I set aside my reasons for complaining; I will not obsess over those feelings that build up inside when I’m under attack by others; I will not shrink by the enormity of my circumstances, because there is NOTHING and NO ONE bigger or bolder than YOU. I will set aside those things I cannot change—and instead of complaining and spiraling out of control as though I’m defeated, I will smile and rejoice in gladness, for I am blessed by You, Father.
I know that no matter what I go through and no matter what someone says about me, it’s alright and all good—because You are my strength, shield, shelter, and nurturer. Thank You, Father, for a brand new day and a new outlook. I love You. Amen.
And with that family, I pray that you are blessed, that you see and embrace your blessings, and that you are a blessing to others.
Love you all,
Natasha
Copyright 2023-2024. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. breakingbreadwithnatasha.com
Music: Climb by Shane Ivers; Quiescent In Time by Shane Ivers – https://www.silvermansound.com
Breaking Bread With Natasha 