Ruthlessly Faithful

When you read the Bible as it happened chronologically, you quickly run into Job, a man who lived at the time of the Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And when you run into Job, you run into a bunch of theological questions that have perplexed mankind ever since. Questions like, “why do the righteous suffer?” Or, “how could a good God allow such evil?” Or, “what in the world is God doing playing a chess match with Satan using Job as a pawn?”

Unfortunately, in a sense, Job wasn’t the only human being who bore the brunt of such inexplicable and devastating hardship. Rather, he has become the emotional father of a long line of human beings whose lives have been brutally interrupted by pain, loss and inconsolable grief.  But fortunately, in a sense, since we all suffer, Job has also become the spiritual father for righteously and obediently trudging the path of grief to find at its end a God who is, through it all, loving and good, and who unfailingly works out his purposes for his own glory and for our good.

The book of Job starts off in the first verse of chapter 2 by telling us, “There lived in the land of Uz a man named Job—a good man who feared God and stayed away from evil.” (Job 1:1) He was a very wealthy man with a big family and a sterling reputation—but he lost it all.  Yet in all this, as the last verse of chapter 1 says, “Job did not sin or revile God.” (Job 1:22)

By the time you get to the end of this book—a tough journey with lots of perplexing questions, in my opinion—rather than getting your “why”, “how” and “what” questions answered, the only answer you will find is “Who!” The book of Job starts with the suffering of a righteous man, but it ends with the glory of a righteous God, a God who created it all, owns it all and has a right to rule over it all just as he pleases. In fact, at the end of this book, in one of the most powerful statements in all of Scripture, God himself says to Job and his friends—and to you and me by extension,

“I owe no one anything. Everything under the heaven is mine.” (Job 41:11)

You will need to keep that in mind as you read Job and are confronted with these harsh and inexplicable episodes of suffering. Keep also in mind that as Job, in his need to find meaning in his pain—and his “comforters”, in their “need” to explain the reason for his pain—are speaking out of brutal honesty from a limited human perspective rather than theological accuracy.  For that reason, we must be very careful in trying to construct specific theologies from their words.

Yet at the end of the day, there are some immutable truths we can hang onto as we journey the inevitable path of loss, pain and grief from which no human being gets a pass:

God created it all, owns it all, and has a right to rule over it in anyway he sees fit.  And since God is immutably good, wise and powerful, he will see to it, in this life or the next, that his faithful ones will experience the never-ending satisfaction of his glory and grace.

Since that is true, we would do well then, as Job did, to steadfastly submit to the will of God, come what may, stubbornly trust in the goodness of God, even when there seems little reason for trust, unceasingly practice patience with the sovereignty of God, who has promised to work out all things for his glory and our good and therefore joyfully—yes joyfully—offer our grateful worship before the eternal God. This is a hard truth, but I agree: “We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good; if bad, because it works in us patience, humility, contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.” (C.S. Lewis)

Obviously, that requires ruthless faithfulness to the Creator. But what is the alternative? And what better, more pleasing offering of worship can you give to the God who created it all, owns it all and rules it all than your submission, trust and patient endurance? There is no greater worship!

Prayer… Father, you created it all, you own it all and you have the right to rule it all—including my life. Therefore, in good times and in bad, I will honor you, offer my life as living proof of your love and lift my response to life as an offering of praise to your righteous Name. You are a ruthlessly faithful God and I will be your ruthlessly faithful child.