Will We Turn Away?
Who, at some point in life, has not experienced a bad thing? And who, if you probe deep enough, does not think of himself as a genuinely good person? So why should it be surprising when an afflicted person cries out against the injustice of God?
At first glance, Job would seem to fit this description perfectly, but throughout the time of his suffering, he never claims to be a man without sin. In fact, it is God who claims that Job is “…blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (v8). While terrible things come to afflict Job, including the deaths of his children, the loss of his wealth and the pain of disease, the core question is whether or not Job will lose patience with God, blame Him and forsake Him.
Loss of faith and betrayal are central facts in the Old and New Testaments and understanding Job’s crisis is crucial to understanding our own response to crisis. Will we remain faithful no matter what? Will we humble ourselves before God no matter what the circumstance? Or will we turn our backs on God, rejecting Him in anger because we have come to believe that He has not been faithful to us?
