After the loss of his wealth and his children, the hosts of heaven and hell watched to see how Job would respond. Job expressed his grief in a normal way—for God expects us to be human—but then he worshipped God with a profound statement of faith.
Job’s Statement of Faith
Job looked back to his birth and ahead to his death, uttering: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). Instead of cursing God, as Satan predicted he would, Job blessed Him. He acknowledged that everything he owned was given by God, and the same God had the right to take it away.
The Second Trial: Physical Affliction
Satan, however, does not give up easily. He challenged God again: "Let me touch his body... and he will soon curse You to Your face." With God's permission, Satan afflicted Job with a terrible disease. His symptoms were agonizing: running sores, bad breath, weight loss, and blackened skin. So disgusting was his appearance that his friends did not recognize him, and he fled society to sit on the ash heap outside the city.
The Voice of the Quitter
All Job had left was his wife and his three friends. His wife, devastated by the loss of her children and wealth, put a temptation before him: "Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9-10). But Job did not listen. He would not rebel against God or take matters into his own hands. Faith is living without scheming; it is obeying God in spite of feelings or circumstances.
- In severe testing, our first question must not be "How can I get out of this?" but "What can I get out of this?"
- Giving up is the worst thing we can do. If you want to be memorable, sometimes you have to be miserable.
Next Up: The Sufferer’s Lament—Job curses the day of his birth.