Read: Job 4-5 & Isaiah 55
“Why is this happening to me? I accepted Christ. I’ve been reading my Bible (or at least trying to read it) every day. I give money to the poor. I try to share the gospel with people. And now I feel like my world is falling apart. Do my efforts mean nothing? Is God’s punishment my reward?”
If we’re being honest, it’s easy to feel this way. After losing his children, his livestock and his health, Job begins cursing the day he was born. His friend Eliphaz admonishes him saying, “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty” (Job 5:17). In today’s language, it would be like Eliphaz saying, “Look buddy, if you were as righteous as you think, these things wouldn’t be happening to you. You must have sinned somewhere, and God is punishing you for it.”
As a reader looking in, we know this isn’t the case. In Job 1 and 2, God Himself tells Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
Eliphaz’s quick judgment reminds us how limited our perspective really is. God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). When we’re going through tough times, we don’t see God’s bigger plan. But we can rest assured that He is working on our behalf.
