Job: The Test
But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has,
and he will surely curse you to your face (Job 1:11).
The book of Job helps us to catch a glimpse of the
greatness and the majesty of God Almighty. We see
what we so desperately need to see - that God is
not just another man, great in power and authority,
whom we call, influence, and command. God is not
a heavenly bellboy, ready to run at our command.
No, God is in charge. He will always be in
charge, and this is the way we must see Him.
We sometimes hear that the book of Job is the record
of a great battleground between God and Satan and that
Job is caught in the middle. There are aspects of this
in the book, but, what kind of battle is it where one side
must get permission from the other before it attacks?
And yet that is what happens in the book of Job.
Satan comes to God and he asks permission to do
some things against Job. Now that is not a battle;
it's not war; it's a test. That's what we must see.
Job's faith is the subject of the test. Satan is
the one who brings it about, BUT God permits it.
If Satan had his way, every one of us would always
be in this kind of trouble. He would tear us all apart
all the time if he could, not because he is angry with
us, but because he wants to get at the God we serve.
But God's protecting hand has been over us. We can
only sit here in any degree of peace and contentment
because the hand of God is like a hedge around us,
protecting us, giving us great and wonderful things.
We need to be thanking God for what we've
got and for where we are now, because only
He knows what the future may hold for us.
And if it should hold some kind of testing like
this, just remember, He will not let us be tempted
beyond what you can bear. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
He knows what we can bear, and He will not put us to
the test so severely that it will destroy our faith. But
there are implications in every test that go far beyond
the superficial aspects of the situation. That is what
we must remember. And as the book unfolds, we see
some things that God brought to the attention of Job.
The Book of Job teaches us to trust God under ALL
circumstances. We must trust God, not only WHEN we
do not understand, but BECAUSE we do not understand.
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