The Holy, Righteous, and Long-Suffering Job
Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy, Righteous, and Long-Suffering Job. Job was a prosperous and righteous man, who walked with the Lord, and was respected in the community. The Lord allowed many ills to fall upon Job, caused by the evil one. He lost cattle, lands, friends, loved ones, and then had to endure the ridicule and scorn of his neighbors. Through all of this, Job was patient, blessing and praising the Lord.
One of my favorite passages from Job is at the end, when God answers Job's cries out asking, (effectively), "What have I done that you have cursed me?" And God answers, "Where were you when I founded the earth?...Who determined its size, do you know?" This goes on for quite some time, and at the end Job acknowledges the grandeur of God and that these things which have taken place are beyond his understanding. The Lord then restores Job's fortune and then some.
This dialogue with God is a good reminder for me when I'm crying out to God, "Why, why would you let this thing happen?!" Sometimes "this thing" is indeed terrible and tragic (severe illness, death in the family, etc.) but sometimes it's something simple like being cut off in traffic. But then I'm reminded that I did not found the earth, did not determine its size, did not hold back the sea, did not form creatures. God is God, and I am not. May we, like Job, maintain our faith in God despite our surroundings and circumstances.
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