Willing to Uphold the Standard

Job 1:8 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil."

This begins a series of events in the life of Job that comes to a head relatively quickly as you read the book of Job. In a matter of a few verses he has lost everything that is his; possessions, wealth, and his children are all gone. It is a tragic picture of the devastation that Satan can bring into a life if allowed the freedom to do so. God had asked Satan if he had considered Job. God used a military term meaning to “consider tactics, weaknesses, and a means of attack in order to subdue an enemy.” Satan’s response is that Job only loves God and worships God because God has been so good to him. God’s response to this challenge is confidence in Job.

I heard one atheist critic say that this was nothing more than a cosmic gamble at Job’s expense. I guess I understand this perspective, it can look that way.

I remember reading about the great evangelist Dwight Moody years ago. Moody once said, “The world has yet to see a life totally sold out for Christ. I want to be that man.” I was greatly challenged by the statement. Job seems like such a man to me, a life totally sold out to God. You see, to me, Job answers the question “Can a man lose everything and still follow God?” Dwight Moody was willing to pay the price to be the example for everyone of what a life looked like that was sold out to God. Job paid a much higher price than Moody, but I am simply trying to make a point.

Now, Job never volunteered for such a position and God never answered his question about why anything was happening to him. Nevertheless, for Job, his life becomes that centuries old example that a man can lose everything and still worship God. We will never know if this idea of volunteering for the position of “example” went through Job’s mind since the Bible does not tell us. But Job certainly fits the bill of such a volunteer. He was willing to uphold the standard of what it looks like to follow God with your whole life. Unlike the atheist, Job was willing to endure anything and everything and continue worshipping God.

Job 13:15 "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.

This was Job’s trust, God was his confidence. Despite everything, he knew that God was not far from him, nor had God abandoned him. Though he did not understand what was going on, he knew God was still God. He did not see his life as a cosmic gamble, the God he knew was not so fickle.

Can you trust this way? Can you hold to what you know about God in the face of turmoil? Though I would not suggest challenging Satan to take his best shot, I wonder if you would be willing to uphold the standard. Would you be willing to live a life sold out for God every day, at what ever the cost? God help me, I want to.