In the flash of a moment, Job lost all his possessions and children; on top of that, he was afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Job used a potshard to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes. His body was covered with maggots and dust. His skin would crack open again soon after it healed. During many long torturous nights, Job tossed and turned till the next morning, in the pain that went to his bones.
When Job was struck down and humbled by his sufferings, his wife asked him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God, and die!" His three friends who had come to comfort him actually came together to judge Job and his children’s sins. Deserted by his relatives and held in contempt by his servants, Job's suffering and pain is beyond our comprehension.
Afflictions might have deprived Job of all his possessions and destroyed his health, but they did not destroy his relationship with God. Neither could trials destroy his soul. Loss of possessions, children, health, and kindred pushed him to the brink of despair, but these losses could not deprive him of the blessings of heaven. Job must have felt he had reached the end of his life’s journey and that his physical body was about to perish. But Job also had a conviction that he would see God apart from his flesh; that is, Job would behold God with his own eyes. This shows the profound state of peace Job experienced.
Comparing Job and his wife, we find that their differing reactions to the trial reflect two types of believers. Some Christians, after they have lost everything, will still praise God’s name with an intensified desire for eternal life. Some believers cannot endure trials and may say to their spouses, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God, and die!"
In our lives we will often encounter great trials just like Job; but after we encounter our trials can we still say, "After my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God"? This is the ultimate goal of our faith. All our sacrifices in this life are made for this very purpose—that we may say this at death! If we fail in our trials, it does not matter how good our lives may be, for we have lost everything of value if we lose that which is eternal. Amen.
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