Job 1:1-3, 8-22 vs22
"Naked I came from my mothers womb and naked I shall return there,
the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Job lost 10 children, 11,000 livestock, his home, all his servants except the 4 heralds of bad news, and we think we’ve got it bad when we have a bad hair day, or when we have to stand in line at the bank.

I doubt if there is another human being who has lost so much in such a short span of time. I know I certainly haven’t, not to that degree. Like most families, I have had weeks, even months, when Murphy’s Law reigned, when you think it couldn’t get any worse, it does.

What do you do? How do you handle these adverse situations?

Let’s look at how Job handles his avalanche of tragedies.

Vs. 22, gives you the impression that Job had a laissez-faire attitude, as if to say, O well, you lose some and you win some.

"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Vs. 21, clearly tells us that Job was not so nonchalant.

Vs. 21, "Job rose, tore his robe, shaved his head, fell on the ground and worshipped."

Job reacted very appropriately. He didn’t plaster some phony smile on his face and break into a chorus of ‘I feel good’. He honestly expressed his grief.

He tore his clothing, he shaved his head, he fell the ground.

There are many Christian who believe that this is an inappropriate way to react to life’s disappointments and heart breaks. They think that when you experience deep loss you are to, as James states,

"Count it all joy, when you might various trials."(James 1:14)

They are probably the kind of parent who, in an effort to console their child who has just fallen or experienced disappointment, orders their child, "Stop crying, or I will give you something to cry about." Like a threat of a beating or being hit is going to stop a child from crying.

To be joyful in the face of tragedy is to completely misunderstand what James is saying. It also is a complete denial of your honest emotions and feelings. Expressing grief IS NOT sinful. God created us with emotions. It has been said, "God gave us tears for times when words are inadequate to express our emotions."

By tearing his clothes, shaving his head, and falling on the ground, Job was appropriately expressing his emotions. No matter how great your faith is, whether it measures up to Job’s or not, don’t run away from your emotions caused by loss. Job’s reaction to the news of his great losses teaches us, how to react as well as how to react rightly toward God.

"Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshipped."

Surely Job fell to the ground because he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was like, the news struck him a powerful blow, the kind a heavyweight boxer might throw at an opponent, causing his knees to buckle and sending him reeling to the ground.

The real reason Job fell to his knees was an act of humility before a sovereign God note verse 20,

"and (Job) fell on the ground and worshipped."

Today when most people encounter tragedy or loss cry out against God. You will hear them say, "Who does God think he is." "What gives God the right to do this to me." "What did I do to deserve this." "Why."

In the face of his losses, Job did not cry out against God, rather Job cried out to God. Job worshipped God in the midst of his tragedy.

"Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there;
the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed by the name of the Lord.",
said Job.

Job’s response was a surprise to satan.

satan, was confident, that Job’s faithfulness, his righteousness was because he had no reason to turn against God. satan said,

"Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side."

satan wanted to prove that Job worshipped God not out of love, but because, as one commentary read, ‘God paid him well’.

satan’s analysis of why some people believe and trust God is accurate. There are people whose only interest in God is self-serving. They believe in God because they think that it will exempt them suffering.

These individuals need to read their Bible, specifically Phillipians 1:29,

"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ.... to suffer for him."
or
Romans 8:17, after calling Christians
it adds-
"IF indeed we share in his sufferings."

The Bible attests that there will be calamity and suffering in our lives. We live in a fallen world, saved by the blood of Christ, but still fallen. Therefore good behavior will not always be rewarded, nor will bad behavior always be punished. Sin has twisted justice and made our world at times ugly and unpredictable. This means good people will suffer.

No degree of faith will prevent you from getting cancer or lymes disease. No matter how extensive your involvement in church is, you will not be exempt from abuse or neglect. Regardless of the amount of financial support you give to Christ’s ministry, you are not excused life’s tragedies and heart aches. Job wasn’t and this is what God said of Job,

"There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil."

Yet when adversity came upon Job he said,

"Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

How deep is your faith in God? Will it withstand adversity of great proportion? How do you respond to your tests, your trials? When life says, "This is a test!" Do you ask ‘WHY ME, GOD?’ or do you say, ‘USE ME GOD!’

We must learn from Job who in the face of tragedy did 2 things:

First Job expressed his honest emotions.

Second, Job expressed his honest faith. He acknowledged the sovereignty of God over his life. He expressed His faith in a God who would sustain him. He put his trust in God, creator of heaven and earth.

I encourage you to read the book of Job this month. See how his honest emotions and faith served him well, in his adversity. May Job be an example to you. May his life be a challenge to you. Put down or deepen your roots of faith in your sovereign God, so that life’s setbacks will not put you on your backs put put you on your knees, saying,

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

AMEN

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