Christian life: He is God, and we are not.
The main point of the book of Job is that life is unfair, that bad things do happen. The one great biblical purpose for trials is to draw you near to God. The question is not, “Why did this happen to me?” The deeper question is, “Now that this has happened, will I remain loyal to God?” The most important battles take place inside of us. When we’re burdened and bitter and broken, what will we do?
God’s answer to Job is instructive for you and for me. He basically challenged Job in the only thing he could control: his response. Blaming God for his brokenness got him nowhere; he needed to decide how he was going to respond. What was he going to do now? Was he going to shake his fist at God? Was he going to get better, or get bitter? His response was his responsibility. Likewise, we can’t change our circumstances, but we can change how we respond to them.
Christian life: He is God, and we are not.
The main point of the book of Job is that life is unfair, that bad things do happen. The one great biblical purpose for trials is to draw you near to God. The question is not, “Why did this happen to me?” The deeper question is, “Now that this has happened, will I remain loyal to God?” The most important battles take place inside of us. When we’re burdened and bitter and broken, what will we do?
God’s answer to Job is instructive for you and for me. He basically challenged Job in the only thing he could control: his response. Blaming God for his brokenness got him nowhere; he needed to decide how he was going to respond. What was he going to do now? Was he going to shake his fist at God? Was he going to get better, or get bitter? His response was his responsibility. Likewise, we can’t change our circumstances, but we can change how we respond to them.