The NIV 365 Day Devotional
Job: A Righteous Man Even Through Great Suffering
Job was a righteous man, but he experienced many tragedies in his life. In a mysterious glimpse into God’s throne room, Job 1 depicts Satan challenging God to a test, with Job as their subject. Satan presumes Job is only good because he is blessed; God contends Job will remain good even if his blessings are taken (Job 1:6–12).
Satan brings disaster upon Job’s life. His children die, his servants die, his livestock die. When Job remained righteous through all of this, Satan struck Job’s body with excruciating sores (Job 2:7–8). Job’s own wife told him to curse God for all that had happened to him, but Job refused (Job 2:9–10).
Job was then visited by friends who had a lot of theological knowledge but no pastoral sensitivity. They each told Job that there must have been something he did—some sin he had committed—to bring about these misfortunes. In spite of his friends’ lengthy discussions, Job would not be swayed; he continued to claim that he was innocent of wrong. He demanded his day in court with God (Job 31:5–8).
God spoke to Job and gave him a tour of the marvels of creation. God revealed his own wisdom and power, and Job was faced with the reality of how little he himself truly understood about the universe and the power and wisdom of God. He acknowledged he was only one small part of God’s creation and repented of challenging God. God then restored Job’s fortunes, giving him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10).
APPLICATION Job shows us that blessings and hardships cannot easily be correlated with righteousness and wickedness. It is true that good actions often lead to good results and wicked actions usually yield bad results (see the book of Proverbs). However, it is also true that sometimes the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. Job’s story is an example for us: Whatever our circumstances, God’s plans are bigger than we can comprehend. God is God, and we are not. We can also take comfort in the fact that, even after all his suffering, Job found God to be good.
Taken from the NIV Application Bible.