Leadership: God’s Plan of Success for EntrepreneursIhe Atụ

Job: Failure Followed by Success Again

The story of Job is the story of a successful entrepreneur living close to God and losing almost everything except his life. 

You may have also faced trials in your entrepreneurship, your family, or your health. Today, we look at what the Bible says about how one might respond in such situations. 

Before digging into Job’s loss, check the top 10 business principles he followed to build his success from chapter 31:     

1. No unlawful transactions (v. 7b)     
2. Fairness to all employees (vv. 13-14)     
3. No thinking less of others (v. 15)     
4. No abuse of influence or power (v. 21)     
5. Trusting God, not money (v. 24)    
6. No rejoicing over wealth (v. 25)     
7. No joy from a competitor’s trouble (v. 29)     
8. No wishing of bad luck on competitors (v. 30)     
9. No hypocrisy or hiding of wrongs (v. 33-34)     
10. No abuse of natural resources (v. 38-40)

That’s Job’s guide, summarizing how he aspired to live out his faith in all aspects of his business. But how one responds to loss often reveals a person’s true characteristics, so we focus on those instead.

What characteristics got Job through the hard times? How did he come through to once again succeed? The Bible offers the following insights:

He did not accept bad advice. 

At his time of failure, Job’s closest advisors sound a lot like what you might hear today:  God must be disciplining you for correction (Job 5:17), and you should get busy praying (5:8). Even Job’s wife tells him to stop with his righteousness and just blame God for his troubles (2:9). 

Job, however, does not accept any of this advice but stands firm, still praising God:

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised . – Job 1:21b

He asked God the hard questions.

Job questions why God would allow so much loss. Losing his business, his children, and becoming diseased all at the same time is too much to bear. 

But, instead of blaming God or running from God, Job reaches out to God with tough questions: What have I done wrong? Why was I even born? Why not end my life now? (Job 7:20-21; 10:18; 6:8-10)

He acknowledged God as supreme.

Even when God does not speak or Job does not understand, he maintains his integrity. Throughout his time of loss, Job proclaims that wisdom and power belong to God, and that God is in control (Job 12:23; 21:22, 42:2). 

He knew the power of prayer.

After the discussion between Job and his friends, God reprimands Job’s friends, but adds that if Job prays for them, then He will skip punishing them (Job 42:7-9). And then, after remaining right with God throughout this period of loss, God restores Job’s business fortunes:

After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10).

He never gave up.

Later in the New Testament, James, the brother of Jesus, counts Job as blessed because of his perseverance, with the message that we too need to be patient in suffering:

As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about (James 5:11a).

The story of Job is superb teaching for any entrepreneur, but what does that mean for your success? Is it enough to just follow the examples of Abraham and Job to gain the blessing of God on your business?

We’ll dig into that next time.

Reflection and application     

• In chapter 31, Job shares the business principles by which he operated. How does that list compare to yours?      
• Job challenged God when things got tough, but never blamed him. How is it for you when times get really tough? Where does God fit in?     
• Even when everything was going completely wrong, Job did not accept the advice of his peers or his wife. Can you or should you do the same? When?