My whole life I have heard about the patience of Job, but when I finally got around to reading this canonical text, I realized I’d been duped, because in my opinion, he was not so patient. For those who do not know this story, in the book of Job, the devil attempts to turn Job away from God, but God knew the future, so He allowed the testing of this loyal servant.
God had been especially good to Job. He was held in high esteem, he had a large family, he was even very wealthy. The devil believed if he took it all away, he could get Job to switch teams. God said, “Oh yeah, I’ll take that bet,” (Not really) and the devil was given permission to test Job in any way he pleased, but he was not allowed to take Job’s life.
Why would God go along with this? Why would He allow the devil to harass a loyal, righteous man? Good question. The answer? Free will. We are all given free will by God, and the devil will use that to turn us against our Creator.
In this world, the devil may have a little power, but God staunches that power by forbidding him to take Job’s life. See, God gives life, and He’s the one who takes it away. Sometimes way too soon, I know. The devil is here messing with us, tempting us, leading us away from our one true love (God)—BUT the devil cannot kill us. The devil’s powers are limited, my friend. He wants the world to believe he’s all knowing and all powerful, but he isn’t. He’s just a scorpion waiting to be smooshed under our shoe.
Back to the story, thanks to the devil, Job’s life fell apart. He lost his wealth, all of his grown children died, and then he got leprosy. Wait! Job’s children died? Why was satan allowed to take their lives? It seems that Job’s adult children did not follow in God’s ways. Job prayed for their souls and made sacrifices for their atonement every day, but by turning from God, they stepped out of His umbrella of protection.
Due to the turn of Job’s luck, everyone turned on Job, including his brothers, his wife, and even his servants. He believed God had turned on him too. Job’s friends called him wicked and accused him of wrong-doing, and they refused to believe his claimed innocence.
Job was in complete misery. He was unable to pull himself up by his bootstraps. He was unable to better his situation, but even so, he never abandoned God. He blamed God. He cried out to God. He raged against God, but he never left God, and his loyalty never wavered—and there lies his patience after all—the patience of Job.
Well, maybe we are all Job. We suffer, but it’s up to us to stay or go. We all have free will, just like Job. After everything that happened to him, Job still chose God, even when he felt like God was not choosing him, and in the end, God gave him a double portion of blessing and a happy ending.
So what’s the moral of this story? No matter our circumstances, always choose God. He is our Creator. He loves us. He is the only one who can save us, and He can give us a happy ending.