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Job 1
Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped (Job 1:20).
When we hear the word vocation, we usually associate it with the subject of careers and jobs. However, it has a broader meaning than mere employment. The Latin root of vocation means “to call.” A vocation, therefore, is a calling. Again, we typically associate calling with the ordained ministry only, but God calls people to all sorts of endeavors. And the Bible teaches us that God from time to time actually calls people to suffer.
Scripture contains numerous examples of people called to suffer. One of the best-known is Job. In the Old Testament book that bears Job’s name, God pulls back the curtain to reveal something of His working in Job’s life, a heavenly drama of which Job was unaware. Job was “blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” Nevertheless, God allowed Satan to bring great suffering upon him. The Reformation Study Bible tells us that “Job is given the high calling of remaining true to God even when . . . grim suffering becomes his daily lot.” Job was deprived of the ten children and the great riches God had bestowed upon him. Then he was afflicted with painful sores on his body. Job freely acknowledged God’s hand in his loss, saving, “ ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.’ ” Furthermore, he refused to grow angry with God. He worshiped and cried out, “ ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord,’ ” and in answer to his wife’s foolish suggestion that he curse God and die, he said, “ ‘shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ ” (2:10). Simply put, Job trusted God’s goodness. But over time, in the face of the assertions of his three “friends” that such great suffering showed he was a great sinner, Job wavered. He began to think that it was wrong that he, being so pious, should suffer. But then God spoke, challenging Job’s failure to trust by revealing Himself as the almighty Creator and Sustainer. Job quickly repented of his self-righteousness, and God ultimately restored to him all he had possessed and more.
Job clearly was called by God to suffer for a time. His suffering served to glorify God in the face of Satan’s accusations. It probably also helped to “discover unto him the hidden strength and corruption” of his heart, as the Westminster Confession says. As always, God was working for His own glory as well as Job’s good.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Though we should not see our suffering as a cosmic drama on a par with Job’s story, it is certainly true that God is glorified when we trust Him in the midst of suffering. Such trust points to the faith He gives and the grace He supplies. Ask for God’s help to lift Him up in whatever degree of suffering He might call you to endure.
For Further Study
- Proverbs 3:5
- Romans 14:8
- Philippians 1:20