And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job 1:21
Despite his immense pain, despite his disappointment and complaints, Job refused to stop trusting God. Job refused to renounce God, turn away from God or ignore God.
Near the outset of the book, we read of Job’s remarkable response:
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong (1:20-22).
Much later, he exclaims:
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God (19:25-26).
Suffering is always a test of faith for the believer. That was the reason Job suffered – to test his faith. Satan had said to God: “But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face” (1:11). The whole experience was a test of faith.
It is the same for you and me. Will we trust God, despite our suffering and pain, or will we not?
If you choose to trust God, what will that look like? You too will refuse to renounce God, turn away from God, or ignore God. You will keep praying, even if your prayers are full of pain and questions. At least you’re talking.
Moreover, you will not insist on answers. As it says in Proverbs 3:5-6, you can ask for them, but you probably won’t get them until heaven. Ultimately, you need faith, not answers. You need trust, not understanding.
Finally, you will cling to God, no matter how dark it gets. You will stand on the promises of God’s Word: that God is right there with you, that God cares, that God is still good, that God will have the final word and it will be good.
Will you trust God in your time of suffering, or will you not?
I can only imagine that Job, throughout all eternity, is so glad that he chose to trust his God. And so will you.