When the Going Gets ToughSample

Counting It All Joy

Choosing to be joyful in the midst of hard times is definitely easier said than done—at least for me. One thing I’ve learned is that God wants us to be honest with Him about our pain.

That’s why when I think about people in the Bible who persevered through tough times and came out on top, my mind instantly goes to Job.

Honestly, this was my least favorite book of the Bible because it revolved around suffering and I am not a fan of unwarranted hardships or trials.

The Book of Job begins by describing him as a perfect and upright man who was very prosperous and successful. Then the scene switches to God’s heavenly courts, where His angels come to present themselves to Him.

Among God’s heavenly beings appears Satan, who when questioned, tells the Lord he has been roaming the earth and taking note of everything that was going on.

God brought Job to Satan’s attention, and the devil, who is also known as the accuser, tells God Job only loved Him because He protected him and blessed him with much wealth. After Satan left God’s presence, he sent a band of raiders to steal Job’s cattle and murder his servants.

The devil also rained down fire from heaven to incinerate Job’s sheep and shepherds and sent a second band of raiders to steal Job’s camels and kill the rest of his workers. If that was not bad enough, Satan also signaled a powerful whirlwind to strike the house of Job’s oldest son while he and his other siblings were feasting.

The Book of Job is a very tough reading to digest. On the surface level, it can seem like an upsetting sequence of events since it appears like God permitted Satan to torture somebody who did all the right things.

After all, it was God who brought Job to Satan’s attention. That specific verse intrigued me because Christianity teaches us that God protects us from the enemy and wants us to have and experience good things.

Needless to say, for the longest time, I could not wrap my head around the fact that God not only permitted that kind of suffering for a righteous man but also instigated the series of unfortunate events in the first place.

Tomorrow we will explore Job's response to this series of unfortunate events.