Good Guys and Bad Guys

¹Eliphaz the Temanite replied to Job: . . . ⁸“My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same. ⁹A breath from God destroys them. They vanish in a blast of his anger.¹⁰The lion roars and the wildcat snarls, but the teeth of strong lionswill be broken. ¹¹The fierce lion willstarve for lack of prey, and the cubsof the lioness will be scattered. ¹²This truth was given to me in secret, as though whispered in my ear. ¹³It came to me in a disturbing vision at night, when people are in a deep sleep. ¹⁴Fear gripped me, and my bones trembled. ¹⁵A spirit swept past my face, and my hair stood on end. ¹⁶The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape. There was a form before my eyes. In the silence I heard a voice say, ¹⁷‘Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’”Job 4:1, 8-17

In any personal struggle or tragedy, more advice will come your way than you need or want. Some of it is helpful, but much of it is hurtful.

In this reading, Job receives the latter kind of advice—hurtful. In this first round of discussion between Job and his friends, the friends begin by gently explaining their belief that Job must have sinned to bring so much pain on himself. Job doesn’t think so. Read and see who’s right.

There are a lot of good points in this passage: despairing in suffering (Job); “messages from God” that aren’t (Eliphaz); how to benefit from pain (Eliphaz); being slow to give advice to people who are upset (Job); a lasting source of security (Job); the effects of long-term suffering on our emotional state (Job); insensitivity (Zophar); and hope in life after death (Job).

Part of what Eliphaz said in Job 4:7-8 is true, and part is false. It is true that those who promote sin and trouble eventually will be punished; it is false that good and innocent people never suffer.

Because we live in a fallen world, those who love God and obey his commands are not necessarily immune to suffering. Although suffering is not a pleasant experience, we should try to have a joyful attitude when we go through it, knowing that it will be used by God to transform our character to be more like Christ (see James 1:2-4). In addition, we should look at suffering as a test of our faithfulness to Christ, and we should strive to rely on his grace to pull us through these difficult times.

If you are struggling with a painful illness or sorrow, don’t be quick to blame yourself for your suffering. Instead, rely on God and his goodness. Ask him to teach you and to lead you through it.

Fair-Weather Faith

Most of us have had fair-weather friends. Their friendship is a mirage. As long as you’re rich and carefree, they love you, they stand by your side, and they laugh at your jokes. But as soon as you lose your job or popularity, those fair-weather friends disappear faster than your paycheck. The blows inflicted by such impostors do a lot of damage because they hit you when you’re the most vulnerable.

In the first two chapters of Job, Satan thinks that Job’s faith in God is that of a fair-weather friend. As long as life is good and things are going Job’s way, of course his faith in God is secure. But the loss of loved ones here and a little disease there will make Job’s faith extinct—at least that’s what Satan thinks.

Also note in this passage who the real enemy is, what believers can expect from him, and how he attacks.

Satan attacked Job’s motives, saying that he was blameless and upright only because he had no reason to turn against God (Job 1:9). Everything was going well for Job. Satan wanted to prove that Job was worshiping God not out of love, but because God had given him so much.

Satan accurately analyzed why many people trust God. They are fair-weather believers, following God only when everything is going well. Adversity destroys such superficial faith. But adversity strengthens real faith by causing believers to dig their roots deeper into God in order to withstand the storms.

How deep does your faith go? Put the roots of your faith down deep into God when life’s skies are sunny. Then when the storms come, you will be able to stand strong.

Trusting God When We Don’t Understand

Recently, I was reading the Gospel of John, Chapter 13. The disciples and Jesus met in the upper room to celebrate the Passover. We call this the last supper. As the disciples gathered in the room there was no servant to wash their feet. This would have been unheard of in Middle Eastern culture, where everyone’s feet would get dirty and dusty. There must have been tension in the room, as the disciples anxiously looked at each other wondering who would take the place of a servant to wash feet. Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist, got down on His knees, and began washing their feet. Peter was appalled! Maybe he even felt a bit guilty for not being willing to be the one who would serve the others.

In any case, he questioned the Lord: “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” We could paraphrase that, “Lord are You really going to be the one to wash our feet?” In Peter’s mind, this didn’t make any sense. How could the Lord of the universe stoop so low?  Then Jesus said, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7). Ah those words are so profound! 

Often in our lives, we believe God is moving in one direction only to discover the plan is completely different. Perhaps, we felt we’d heard from the Holy Spirit about a job opportunity, a good diagnosis, finding a godly mate, delivering a healthy baby or finally getting to adopt a child. Then we were blindsided by a lost job opportunity, cancer diagnosis, loneliness, miscarriage, or failed adoption. The list could go on endlessly. When things don’t turn out as we anticipated, we feel disappointed with God and wonder, “Did I really hear from Him?” 

The bigger question is, “How do I trust a God I don’t understand?” To trust God when we don’t understand, we have to get brutally honest with our feelings. We can’t deny or numb feelings of disappointment, hoping they’ll go away. Instead, we must authentically dump them at the feet of Jesus. Remember the story of Lazarus dying in John, Chapter 11. Mary and Martha, Lazarus’s sisters, felt devastated and disappointed Jesus hadn’t shown up in time. Both women said to Him, “If only you had been here.” They were honest about their feelings. Jesus felt deep empathy for and wept with them. No judgment. Just entering into their sorrow, even though moments later He knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead. 

When we feel disappointed with God’s response, we must cling to what we know about His character. Returning to what we know to be true will help settle our souls.  If we always understood God, He wouldn’t be God. He would be our equal. Instead, He is vastly beyond our imagination. Yet, according to His Word, He is good. He loves us. He is faithful and He will do what’s best for us.

The truth is. our trust muscles are strengthened as we go through life’s disappointments. If we continue to authentically bring our feelings before God and cling to what we know to be true about His character, our faith will grow stronger even in suffering. As we lean into Jesus, He will whisper reassurance to our broken hearts, “You don’t understand right now, but you will someday. Trust me.” 

Knowing the Heart of God

Most people long to be understood. We may have many acquaintances, but we all have a deep need to feel truly known by those we love most. This is because we were created in God’s image–He also desires to be intimately understood and loved by us.

Just as you don’t want to be known for only the superficial details of who you appear to be, it’s not enough to know about the Lord. He wants us to learn how He thinks and feels, what’s important to Him, and what His purposes are. Of course, it’s impossible for man to completely know the mind of the Creator of the universe. In Isaiah 55:9, He tells us, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” The depth and breadth of His mind is so great we will never be able to fully grasp it in this lifetime.

However, we can better understand God’s heart and character by seeking Him and learning day by day from His Word. If we genuinely desire to walk in His ways, we must first genuinely know Him. We come to know our friends better by sharing more experiences together. Similarly, we will also understand God better the longer we walk with Him and meditate on what He has revealed about Himself in the Bible.

God wants you to seek Him with all your heart, and He promises that when you do, you will find Him (Jer. 29:13). So, the next time you’re feeling a need to be better understood, turn to the One who understands you perfectly. Even more importantly, ask Him to help you know Him better.