Why Serve God?

KEY VERSE: “The LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” —Job 2:3

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Job 1:1-11; 2:3-6; 3:1-3

WHILE IT HAS been said that it is easy to believe in God when we are healthy and prosperous, the real test of our faith occurs when we are confronted by suffering and tragedy. The Book of Job has as a theme this question of the adversity of a righteous man, and how those afflictions affect his relationship with, and trust in God. How can the experiences of Job help us to understand the hardships of innocent people, and permit them to serve God during painful times a and difficulty?

God asks Satan to consider his faithful servant Job, “There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” (Job 1:18, New International Version) Satan, “the accuser” (Rev. 12:10) or the “Adversary” (I Pet. 5:8), sees this as an opportunity to show that human behavior is based on selfish motives. And to prove this, he challenges God to take away Job’s wealth and family. God permits Satan to test Job, saying, “All that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.”—Job 1:12

When Job remains faithful to God after losing all his wealth and family (vss. 9-22), Satan issues a more personal challenge: “Skin for skin! … Stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” (Job 2:4,5, NIV) Again God allows Satan to test Job, saying, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”—Job 2:6, NIV

When Satan then “afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head” (Job 2:7, NIV), Job rebuffs his wife’s advice to “curse God, and die,” saying, “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God. and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.”—vss. 9,10, NIV) The pain finally convinces Job that it would have been better had he never been born, and he expressed it this way: “After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.” He said, “May the day of my birth perish.”—Job 3:1-3, NIV

For centuries Christian people have identified with Job’s words in Chapter 3, that show his conclusion that death is better than severe suffering. This becomes Job’s main question throughout the rest of the book, just as it has been the main question of many people. As Job states his case to God in Job 7:20, “If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?”—NIV

Job’s feelings are expressed well in Chapter 3, and other places throughout the book, and he admits his lack of understanding of his experiences. However, Job reaffirms his strong trust in God, saying: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: … He also shall be my salvation.”—Job 13:15,16

Job’s honesty about his feelings—his anger—shows his passion. Although he was in ignorance of God’s plans, yet he displays the zeal desired of God. We must maintain our faith! We must continue to serve God faithfully!

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