Ep. 47 | JOB | The Story of the Gospel: When Life Doesn't Make Sense (Book of Job)

Job was a faithful man—and lost everything in one day. His riches, his children, and his social status. Gone.

Then Satan goes further to inflict Job with an immensely painful disease. 

Job did not suffer perfectly. He complained and even demanded God answer him—but what Job DID was humble himself before God, even when his suffering didn't make sense.

We face situations in our own lives that don't make sense: pain, suffering, or unknowns that lay out in front of us. We can wonder "Where is God in this?"

In the story of Job we find our comfort. We can trust God, even when life doesn't make sense. 

In this weeks episode we will ponder how Job's story impacts our own. 

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Transcript

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Welcome to the Well Soul Podcast, where we pause to drink in Scripture, reflect, and pray. I am your host, Seana Scott, and sometimes life leaves our souls feeling parched. So come, to the well of living water that never runs dry.

So far in the story of the Gospel, we explored creation and the fall of humanity. We saw that God created the world good and humanity was created to image God by being in relationship with Him and one another—and ruling over creation. We saw that sin brought separation from God and sin brought death.

The further we moved away from the Garden, we saw the effects of sin in full force.

Today, we will pause our journey in the book of Genesis to meditate on the book of Job. The Bible Project has a great overview of the book of Job linked in the show notes. For our time together and for the sake of our journey in the story of the gospel, I want us to consider one of the lessons from the book of Job.

And that is: God is trustworthy, even when life doesn't make sense. 

We can trust God, even when life doesn't make sense. 

We will see this theme a lot in our journey through the story of the Gospel. There is always more going on than meets the eye. And God is at work in ways we cannot understand and we are called to trust him.

Welcome to the story of Job.

So Job was a man from ancient times who honored and worshiped God. And God blessed Job with prosperity, including land and animals and children and wisdom, the whole bit. And in that worldview, if you were righteous and good, God would bless you, like an ancient health and wealth gospel. And only if you were sinful, then you were not blessed or you were punished. Because from man's point of view, that is justice, and God is just. 

But Satan accused Job before God and said that Job only loved God because God blessed him. Take away Job's blessings, and Job would curse God. So, God permitted the enemy to destroy Job's riches and even kill all of his children by a violent wind. Job's response to the news of all of his riches and all of his children being lost in one day—Job's response is our first meditation.

First, take a deep breath and invite the Holy Spirit.

Come, Holy Spirit, come. Job 1:20–22.

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
     and naked I will depart.[a]
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
     may the name of the Lord be praised.”

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Take a moment to think about what you just heard.

Job's riches and all his children We're gone in one day. And he responded with humble submission. How would we respond?

But then Satan once again accused Job before God that if Job physically suffered, Job would turn on God. So, God permits the enemy to inflict Job with immense physical pain, yet Job still would not curse God, even at the request of his own wife, who told him to curse God and die—even at the belittlement of his friends who came to comfort him, but then accused him. 

And in Job's writhing and struggling, he gave an account of the good things he did and how it didn't make sense for him to suffer.

He said in Job 31:35, “Oh, that I had someone to hear me!
    I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
    let my accuser put his indictment in writing.

Job didn't realize it wasn't God who accused him. It was Satan and God was listening to job's words. 

The writer of job record God's response in beautiful poetry that we will now meditate on just a portion of it. 

Once again, take a deep breath and prepare your heart to listen to God's word.

Job 38:4­–11. 

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
     Tell me, if you understand.
 5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
     Who stretched a measuring line across it?
 6 On what were its footings set,
     or who laid its cornerstone—
 7 while the morning stars sang together
     and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?

8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
     when it burst forth from the womb,
 9 when I made the clouds its garment
     and wrapped it in thick darkness,
 10 when I fixed limits for it
     and set its doors and bars in place,
 11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
     here is where your proud waves halt’?

Job responds in chapter 42:2-6 

“I know that you can do all things;
     no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
     Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
     things too wonderful for me to know.

4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
     I will question you,
     and you shall answer me.’
 5 My ears had heard of you
     but now my eyes have seen you.
 6 Therefore I despise myself
     and repent in dust and ashes.”

Sit for a moment with what you just heard.

We are not God. We cannot see what God sees. God is in control for his glory and his plan. Even when life doesn't make sense. 

Job repented in his accusations of the Lord. And God blessed him with twice as much as he had before. But even though Job was blessed with material blessings, we are not promised material blessings in this life when we turn toward God in repentance. But what we are promised is the presence of God himself. Jesus said He will be with us, even to the end of the age. 

As we take a moment to reflect and pray about what we learned in the book of Job, what is something in your life that you are struggling with that doesn't make sense from your perspective?

Pray about this or anything else the Spirit brought to mind through today's Scripture reading.

Let's pray. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. One and only true God, we worship you. Sometimes, God, life doesn't make sense. We don't see what you are doing, and we are afraid, or we're suffering, or we're doubtful that what you are doing is for the long term good of your glory and your kingdom. Help us, God, to trust you.

It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. 

Thank you for joining me today on the Well Soul Podcast for our look at the book of Job as part of our Story of the Gospel journey. As part of this series, I created a reflection guide about the fall of humanity. To download your copy to dive further in reflection about this foundational moment in the Story of the Gospel, see the link in the show notes.

You can subscribe to the Well Soul community and receive encouragement and resources to live with a well soul directly in your inbox, see the link in the show notes to join us for free. You can follow the Well Soul on Instagram for more teaching on Genesis and Job. In closing, I remember my late friend, Brian Vasquez, who made this podcast possible.

God bless you. And I pray that you have a well soul.