I have written nine blogs about Job over the years but this year as I re-visited
his story, I felt that I had missed the crux of his experience. It pierced my
heart because it related to me in a personal way.
To recap, Job went from fabulous wealth, exquisite righteousness and
being a pinnacle of society to living in rags on the outskirts of the city, in
constant pain but remaining devoted to God.
Refusing to curse God and die, Job lost the support of his wife and through
the merciless scorn of Job’s self-proclaimed integrity, his friends offered no
support. Through it all, Job stood firm defending God. The more they opposed
his strength, the more Job praised God insisting ‘with Him is wisdom and
strength’ (Job 12:10-24). And in his sorrow, he exclaimed: “My friends scorn
me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God” (Job 16:20).
It’s the tears that get me because in the midst of his repeated pleading
to God, the heavens remained silent:
“…..as we know, silence had become part of the test. But what a problem
this posed for Job. Deep, depressing darkness cowed him by its awful blackness
and terrified him by its pervasiveness. Listen to his anguished plea with the
Lord for soul-relief, relief that included an answer to his persistent but
continually unanswered question: Why? Why? Why? Wherefore hidest thou thy face,
and holdest me for thine enemy? (Job 13:20-24)…..He hath fenced up my way that
I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths (19:6-8) (Keith H. Meservy,
Job, Yet Will I Trust In Him, pp 139-53)
Job’s greatest pain was not losing his children, his health or his wealth but the betrayal he felt as God turned away from his suffering.
In Lecture 3 of Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith said that there are three things necessary 'in order that any rational or intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation': 1. The idea that God actually exists; 2. A correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes; 3. An actual knowledge that the course of life he is pursuing is according to His will.
The Book of Job proves this teaching to be true. To exercise true faith and endure in faithfulness one must be convinced that God exists, have knowledge of His character to foster hope for deliverance and salvation and be assured that his life is acceptable to Him. All three necessary attributes listed above are reflected in Job's life.
When he proclaimed "I know that my Redeemer liveth" (19:25), he was basically bearing testimony of His existence. When he said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (13:15) is a clear indication that he knew of God’s merciful nature, His power and His strength (26:6-14). Job also knew that the life he was living was according to God's will and this he proved by recounting his good deeds ((29:12-17) and by asserting his righteousness (27:2-6).
What hurt Job the most was God’s silence. He had lived a perfect life, he believed in God, he knew him and yet God was silent. He was a good person and he had done all. How many times do we come across scriptures that say God is merciful, and He will answer our every prayer and yet at the most crucial time of our lives, we feel abandoned by Him and experience the silence?
How abandoned and rejected Job must have felt. The disdain of his
friends was bad enough as was the lack of support from his wife but to be
shunned by God was the end of the line. He had nowhere else to go for relief
and understanding. The only place he
could go from there was to wish for death (Job 3:3; 10:1). Job was not just
alone, he was utterly alone. Many of us understand this place. Yet still in the
midst of his longing for the end, Job remained steadfast and in the end he
heard the voice of Jehovah ‘out of the whirlwind’ which revived his soul and
confirmed the greatness of God who watched over him still (see Job 38).
I remember my tears to God some years ago about facing my trials alone when
He answered me: “was it you or I who suffered at Calvary?” I understood back
then the lonely road He had travelled in mortality all the way to the cross,
abandoned by His friends who ran from Him and betrayed Him and His countrymen
who rejected Him. And then the Father’s withdrawal and silence. How utterly,
utterly alone the Saviour must have felt in His most crucial moment at Calvary.
Those who would be Christ’s have to know ‘the fellowship of His sufferings’ (see
Philippians 3:8-10).
What Job did not foresee in the midst of his suffering was that his life
would take a turn for the better, and he would be recompensed for not turning
his back on one greater than him. His trust in God’s mercy did come as 'the Lord blessed the latter end
of Job more than his beginning' (Job 42:12). Job lived another 140 years in
prosperity and wellness after the trial of his faith. Would he have ever
imagined in the mire of his pain such a glorious ending to his life if he had
cursed God and died???
ODE TO JOB
You
sank so deep
Into
the mire of your pain;
Nobody
followed you
Nobody
sang praises to your name.
You
longed for the comfort
That
nobody could give
But
He who gave you life
In
whom you believed still.
He
stood and He waited until
In
your hour of agony
You
gloried in His name
And
became my beacon of hope
that
I can do the same.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
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