Life has a hellish tendency. Whoever believes in the idea that good things happen to those who do good things must have been high when they arrived at this conclusion. Good things happen to bad people; bad things happen to good people. That’s just the way things work. My question is what is our response to these bad things? Why does all this crap happen to good people or well intended folks? Where does God fit into this picture?

It was funny how I never intended on dealing with this issue. This issue found itself in my life. I was pondering what to read on a particular day, and for some reason I thought of the book of Job. I had no idea what I was looking for in this story so I decided to read it just to read it (if that makes any sense whatsoever). It goes through this process where this great guy goes through life doing only good things and became very successful in every which way. Suddenly everything in his life falls to pieces through a series of uncontrollable events. We then find Job trying to understand all that was going on and Job’s buddies trying to help him justify why this great loss took place. Job’s buddies continue to accuse Job of doing wrong and this is a repercussion for the wrong he has done; Job has done no wrong! He sits here in mourning having to defend his innocence to his closest friends (sounds like great friends). Job says nothing but honest insight into God and reveals the raw anguish and thoughts going through his head. He indeed misses those things he was emotionally connected to (granted I would feel the same way if I had lost my entire family). Then a stranger shows up and sets these guys straight, and he throws down raw and uncensored. The boy has nobody to impress. He tells these guys that they can’t fit God and His ways into a regular man’s way of thinking. He said this is not a reaction to Job’s sin as a man would do to another man if he was done wrong. He then shoots down the whole idea of Job being punished for doing wrong and calls Job ignorant to his own lack of innocence. Then Job is approached by God with these thoughts and questions. God goes through this long dramatic poem of the creation of the sea and the heavens and the animals of the earth. Job asks for forgiveness of his pride, and God responds with a demand, not of Job, of Job’s friends. He tells them to bring sacrifices to bring to Job so Job could present forgiveness for them at the altar because they have not spoken accurately of God. They were attempting to speak on God’s behalf and totally confusing Job. Granted Job shot down everything they had to say, but they said some pretty whack stuff in attempting to comfort him. Take a few things away from this story. Think about how you respond to difficult times, and remember there is always a time where you can set aside the craziness in your mind once things settle down like what God offered Job at the end of this story. Also be careful the advice you give to friends going through these difficult times. Try to be more like the mysterious man than the friends of Job who were just trying to fill in space with their words.

Regardless, my thoughts are starting to escape me. I need to get some sleep. I have a full day’s work in the morning! I totally forgot. Tell me what you guys think of this story and share your reflections of Job and his friends. Check the story out and read it for yourself. There is a ton going on here.

Grace and Peace,
Josh