The story of Job is pretty familiar.

• his 500 yoke of oxen are carried off by Sabeans (Job 1:3, 14)
• his 500 donkeys are also carried off by Sabeans (Job 1:3, 14)
• his large number of servant are put to death by Sabean and Chaldean swords, and some are incinerated by fire that fell from the sky (Job 1:3, 15)
• his 7 000 sheep are incinerated by fire that fell from the sky (Job 1 :3, 16)
• his 3 000 camels are carried off by three Chaldean raiding parties (Job 1:3,17)
• his seven sons and three daughters die when a house collapses on them (Job 1:2, 18-19)
• he was afflicted with painful sores all over his body (Job 2:7)

“In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

– Job 1:22

We are pretty hard on his wife for telling him to “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9) I had always thought she was just a complainer and a bad influence on him. But the other night I realised that this all affected her too. If Job’s children died, that means that her children died. If Job’s wealth was taken away, hers was too. Maybe she didn’t break out into sores, but her husband did. Maybe she even thought it was all his fault. Maybe in her distress she decided that Job must’ve done something wrong, since God struck down their family and afflicted Job with sores. I can imagine her… “this is ALL your fault, foolish husband!!”

… I thought this was very interesting.

Same circumstances, two very different responses. And who am I when trouble comes my way? Am I Job, not charging God with wrongdoing and being faithful to Him? Or am I the wife, being made bitter by circumstance. Having my emotional chemistry controlled by circumstance, rather than the person of God.

“I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.”

– Psalm 34:1

This is a wonderful verse to declare when life is wonderful. But also when your little world seems to be collapsing around you and God seems far away… or even the cause of it all… this is a powerful declaration. One I need to declare to my deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9). This is a joyful verse. Yes. But also a cry of determination. I will extol the Lord at all times. Through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). When everything is rosy. I will extol the Lord.

And this requires more than just gritting your teeth and pressing through. We can’t get far in our own strength. He said it Himself, we can do nothing apart from Him (John 15:5). I need revelation of God. I need to know who He is and truly believe it. I need to encounter Him and know that what He says about Himself is true… so that when painful circumstances are clouding my eyes, making it hard to see Him around me, I will still have great faith on the inside. There will still be love deeply rooted in me. I need Him.