Job was a man that the Bible calls “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). Job, in his righteousness, begins to be tested. Many horrible things happen to him. His children die and all his possessions are lost. He even becomes very sick. To Job, there seems to be no real reason for these tragedies. In the midst of all his troubles, Job asks God for answers and for a divine justice. Job calls out to God and hears no answer. The answers he does get come from his friends. They tell Job that his suffering is a consequence of his sin. Job does not give in to that explanation. He continues to seek God. Throughout this time of testing, Job seeks answers as he does not understand what is happening. Even though he does not understand, Job’s commitment to God remains as Job begins to understand about true wisdom.
But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living. The deep says, “It is not in me”; the seas says, “It is not with me.” It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or lapis lazuli. Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold. Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. The topaz of Cush could not compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold. Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky. Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.” God understands the way to it and He alone knows where it dwells, for He views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When He established the force of the winds and measured out the waters, when He made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm, then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He confirmed it and tested it. And He said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding” (Job 28:12-28).
A characteristic of God seems to be revealed to Job in the struggles and silence. God is and has all wisdom. Job had been going through and continues to go through many struggles that he cannot comprehend. Job continually seeks wisdom. He seeks from God in prayer and lament. He also seeks it from his friends. Eventually, Job realizes that wisdom does not come from inside himself. In fact, he says that no human can summon wisdom from inside himself. Job realizes that true wisdom comes from God alone because only God knows where wisdom dwells. God, upon seeing wisdom, reveals that wisdom to mankind. That wisdom, simply stated is love God and hate sin.
Job continues through his struggles and holds onto that wisdom that God has spoken. Even though there are many tragedies that Job is facing, he continues to fear God and shun sin. As the testing is completed, Job is blessed for his faithfulness to God. Job is blessed for having an answer when he was not even sure of the question. That answer is that God is the almighty, sovereign One that knows what He is doing even if His people do not understand. In this understanding, Job realizes that everything, including his life, is not about him. It is about God and the path that God leads us down.
This principle of spiritual formation shown in Job is one that applies to us every single day. There are so many times when our prayers seem unanswered or things do not go the way that we expect. We cry out to God and everything seems to be silent. Our life seems unfair and unjust. Job shows us that, even in the midst of uncertainty and suffering, God contains all wisdom. We, as followers of Christ, must choose to follow and rest in that knowledge. “The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). Things may seem unfair and may be hard for us to understand, but God, who loves and provides for us, is in control of all things. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we need. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those that love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
The key is faith. We, as the called people of God, have to have faith that God is in control of all circumstances. We also have to have faith that God is good. In everyday life, that faith looks like the faith of Job. Despite our sufferings and losses, we must trust that God, in His wisdom, has a purpose and a plan. God, in love, keeps us close to Him even when we cannot make sense of the world around us.
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