"And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" Job 1:8
Job: a man who loved and served God. One God praised; whose faith made God proud. He wasn't a nobody. Job held great wealth and prestige. He had a family that he loved, and he interceded with God on their behalf.
So why did God point him out to Satan?
I confess, I'm afraid of pondering that question too deeply. Why? Because of what God says to Job:
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Job 38:2-3
I think if the voice of God came out of a whirlwind and spoke those words to me, I'd run and hide. So, I reason, if God answered Job this way, how much fiercer would He answer me, who lacks the faith of Job?
I'm not really sure Job was written to give us the answer to, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" I just don't believe any human being in this present age, on this present earth, can even come close to comprehending God's answer. But perhaps, in reading it under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, we can grasp the specific message God has for us as individuals.
The beauty of God's Word blossoms before our eyes when His Holy Spirit ministers directly to our hearts while we read it. The answer we seek may not be written in plain English, but the answer we need to hear blooms in our spirit releasing a fragrance that calms and assures. I think when this happens, the value of what we read increases a hundredfold.
Perhaps, if we approached Job with a heart open to hear the Holy Spirit, we'll find a message that shatters our fears, burns up our anxiety, and heals our wounded spirits.
Perhaps, approaching God with a willingness to accept His love may penetrate our hearts like a scalpel cutting away cancer, as well as produce the soothing effect of a healing balm...perhaps if we can be open to look for the good that may flow from circumstances we'd rather not be placed in, maybe we'd be able to respond as Job did and find peace in it:
I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not....I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Job 42:2-5
