Job: The Man for the Job

In my last post I raised the question about the man who fears God. The Bible talks about fearing God and we have a great example in the person of Job. We are told that Job was blameless and upright, fearing God and turning away from evil (1:1). Also, twice we have quotes from God Himself bearing testimony of Job as a man who feared God (1:8;2:3).

These statements give us some insight into what it means to fear God. Last time I pointed out that Abraham demonstrated the fear of God by his willingness to sacrifice his son. He was willing to give up anything to follow the Lord. We see this in Job as well. He turned away from evil. He was willing to turn away from sin and all its enticements in order to follow the Lord. Fearing the Lord means that God has our attention.

Now think about Job's life. He lost it all - health, wealth, and family. He had a wife who gave him poor counsel. He had three friends who gave him even worse counsel. Now, to be sure, Job was discouraged, frustrated, confused, doubting, questioning, etc. but he never lost his focus on the Lord. He was a man who feared God.

Let's consider the results from Job's time of trial. During this time, Job's faith was refined. Trials are meant to bring about perseverance, endurance, and patience. As we walk by faith, the Lord works these qualities into our life. He certainly did with Job whose patience is spoken of in James 5:11.

We also see how Job's submission to God's sovereignty (1:21) silenced Satan. Job never said what Satan said he would because, even though Job didn't understand what God was doing, he did not rebel against God but stayed submitted. You also see how Job drew near to God. All he wanted was to talk to God about this situation. In the end God drew near to Job. God did answer Job, not in the way that Job may have expected, but in a sufficient way nonetheless. Job's commitment to God's sovereignty was strenthened during this time and he learned a valuable lesson - its not all about me, its all about Him. An important lesson for all of us to learn.

Job also learned humility during this time. His physical condition was humiliating to say the least. His encounter with God was even more humbling. And Job humbled himself and assumed a position of repentance before the Lord. And just as the Lord promises, he gave grace to His humble servant and exalted him.

Job learned compassion as a result of his fearing the Lord. The Lord was not pleased with Job's friends and he told them to go to Job and ask him to pray for them (42:8). Would you have prayed for these three men? Job did. His fear of the Lord, combined with the trials he had gone through produced a compassion for others and Job did pray for his friends.

Lastly, we see how God rewarded this man who feared Him. God blessed Job and filled his life with joy. The fear of the Lord is the way of life. May you and I be encouraged to follow the example of Job in fearing the Lord.