I have to admit I was completely lost on what was going on here with the story of Job. So I pulled out this book I have called "The Bare Bones Bible" and it give a brief 10 minute overview of every chapter of the books of the Bible. I liked what this book had to say..."spiritual affairs are going on in heaven that you know nothing about, yet they affect your life; life issues cannot always be understood in human terms; God's people do suffer. Bad things do happen to good people; (this one hit me) you can't always judge a person's spirituality by his or her pain or prosperity; suffering should improve your worship as you draw closer to God and His comfort". I have to admit that there have been times I thought the reason someone was having "bad luck" was because they must not have a close enough relationship with God - but that was naive thinking and the book of Job proves that!
As I was reading my study notes in my Bible, one thing struck me - Job was focusing on the suffering in his life but in fact had lost sight that God is also the source of our blessings.
It is so enriching to read and re-read the Bible in its entirety. When I was reading the passage about Job today I was thinking about Paul in the New Testament. Both of them had the same sturuggles and the same closeness to God. Job: "Yet when I hoped for good, evil came: when I looked for light, then came darkness. The churning inside me never stops." The same with Paul: "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to so what is good, but cannot carry it out" (Rom 7:18 and also verses 19-21 and the rest of chapter 7). And we are the same way. When we want to do good evil is right there. It is good to be enslaved by God and His law!
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I have to admit I was completely lost on what was going on here with the story of Job. So I pulled out this book I have called "The Bare Bones Bible" and it give a brief 10 minute overview of every chapter of the books of the Bible. I liked what this book had to say..."spiritual affairs are going on in heaven that you know nothing about, yet they affect your life; life issues cannot always be understood in human terms; God's people do suffer. Bad things do happen to good people; (this one hit me) you can't always judge a person's spirituality by his or her pain or prosperity; suffering should improve your worship as you draw closer to God and His comfort". I have to admit that there have been times I thought the reason someone was having "bad luck" was because they must not have a close enough relationship with God - but that was naive thinking and the book of Job proves that!
As I was reading my study notes in my Bible, one thing struck me - Job was focusing on the suffering in his life but in fact had lost sight that God is also the source of our blessings.
It is so enriching to read and re-read the Bible in its entirety. When I was reading the passage about Job today I was thinking about Paul in the New Testament. Both of them had the same sturuggles and the same closeness to God. Job: "Yet when I hoped for good, evil came: when I looked for light, then came darkness. The churning inside me never stops." The same with Paul: "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to so what is good, but cannot carry it out" (Rom 7:18 and also verses 19-21 and the rest of chapter 7). And we are the same way. When we want to do good evil is right there. It is good to be enslaved by God and His law!
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