My Monday and Thursday daily bread devos are (usually) written weeks in advance, but I reserve my Tuesday devo to be written on the day-of, so that I can talk about whatever is on my mind that day or share whatever I’m studying in that moment.
Lately, I’ve been sharing thoughts from my study of Job. It’s been tremendous to dig into the book and today is my last day with it. I’m taking notes right now (well, technically, I stopped this morning to write this devo, but I’ll get back to it shortly) on the final chapter, and I wanted to share some thoughts about the book overall. These are, in one way, some of my “final” thoughts on the book, but not the last ones you’ll read in the daily bread, because I have a handful that I wrote days and weeks ago that are scheduled to publish over the next few weeks.
Anyway, here are some of my hindsight thoughts on this amazing book:
I think it’s important to remember, throughout a study of the book, that God was entirely justified and right to allow Job to suffer. God never assured us of a life without hardships. God never promised that He would erect a force-field around us that would prevent the Devil from harming us. God never said being faithful would be easy; He promises it will be worth it.
In the midst of our difficulties, we might be tempted to blame God. We might want to wag our fists at the sky above, directing our ire at the Maker of it all, and accuse Him of not being fair. This is improper, as the Lord made clear in His reply to Job at the end of the book. He has every right to allow the Devil to tempt us. He has given us the means to resist temptation. He has given us to hope to make the Devil’s temptations (and trials) worth enduring.
But God does not, nor will He ever, remove us from the possibility of suffering for Him. If He was to do that, then our obedience would be in vain. If God removed the possibility of hardship, how could we ever be called “faithful” to Him? The very word implies service to God in spite of hardships.
Job’s sufferings are hard to fathom and we pity him while he endures them, but they’re a result of the fallen world in which we live. Job lived in a world post-Eden, in a world where Satan is “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). People love to blame God for the problem of evil and suffering, but the Bible makes it clear that the blame falls to the Devil. He is the wielder of evil and the causer of suffering. God is not the cause. God is the solution.
If Job teaches us anything, it is how far the Devil will go to try to break our faithfulness to God. If the Lord really was as bad as people (who misread Job) try to say, then why does the Devil work so tirelessly to steer us away from Him?
Job reminds us of the need to be faithful, of the importance of trusting in God’s goodness, and of the value in remembering one’s blessed assurance in God. We are His children, and that means we are hated by the Devil. It also means—if we hang on—we will be blessed (eventually and perpetually) by our Father in Heaven.