What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” Job 3:25-26 NIV
When God declared Job the most righteous man on earth, he put to rest the myth that those who consistently do the right thing will never have trouble in their lives. Heartache and difficult circumstances are simply part of the human experience. God does not keep his children from experiencing pain, period. He does, however, use the tough times in life to draw us closer to Himself. As I read these words of Job, my heart breaks for him….no peace, no quietness, no rest, only turmoil! If those words described your situation and you could hope for just one thing from the Lord, what would you want Him to do for you? I would think most of us would first ask Him to change our circumstances, to relieve our suffering and restore our peace. But what about Job, this model of righteousness, what was most important to him? What did he ask for?
“Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut off my life! Then I would still have this consolation— my joy in unrelenting pain— that I had not denied the words of the Holy One. Job 6:8-10 NIV
Job had one goal in his life that superseded everything else: Job wanted to please God! We all know how hard it is to maintain a righteous attitude in the midst of pain and suffering. Though he was righteous, I’ve no doubt that Job struggled with this as well. He lived his life in such a way as to honor God in everything he did, and he didn’t want that to change in the midst of his pain. Honoring God was the source of his joy! His greatest fear was that the pain would weaken his resolve and lead him into sin. He would rather God crush him and end his life than deny His words! If our only goal was to please our Lord, how would we live differently? Would we stop justifying our sin by blaming it on our circumstances? Would we be more willing to fight against it and go to greater lengths to maintain righteousness?
In the middle of unrelenting pain, Job found joy and consolation in knowing he had not denied the words of His God! Perhaps Job had discovered something that we have not yet tapped into, a benefit of righteousness that we have not yet experienced….
….joy, that no circumstance can destroy.
Very penetrating comment!
This is a real challenge to us today: Whom do we wish to please and whose favor do we desire??
We are so easily distracted from all that really matters.