Job Had A Job To Do

Always, braggarts are brought low, as I learned after boasting one fine spring day to my boyhood best friend and mentor Jaybird that I had survived winter without so much as a head cold. Bam! The next morning I awoke feeling terrible. Absolutely miserable, I developed another symptom: the woe-is-me syndrome. In my morning prayers, I ask God to protect me, especially from sickness, as I go about each day’s affairs. Now, wallowing in the depths of self-pity, I was disappointed in God because He didn’t answer my prayers. Then I remembered one of the many life lessons Jaybird taught me. The wise old black man loved stories about Biblical characters, especially one of his favorites — Job. A master storyteller, he retold Biblical tales in his own inimitable way. I’ve never forgotten his story about Job.

Job had a job to do: He had to remain faithful

“If a man trusts the Lord, he will never feel sorry for himself. Take Old Testament Job, for instance. In a conversation with Satan, God said that Job was a man of faith and would never allow the devil to shake that faith. Applying his usual devious means, Satan argued that the only reason Job clung to his faith was because he had a big family, lots of land, large herds of cattle, and plenty of money. The evil one even had the effrontery to bet God that if Job’s blessings were taken from him, he would abandon his faith. “Because God controls both good and evil, and seeing an opportunity to teach His children about self-pity’s negative effects, God let Satan strip Job of all he held dear. His children died, as did his cattle, and he lost all of his property. When facing calamity, most folks plea for mercy and beg God to relieve their misery. Not Job — he had committed no sins worthy of such suffering, and realized that the Lord was testing his faith. Confessing to wrongful deeds he never committed would prove that his faith was not as strong as it should be. “Job ignored his wife’s advice to curse God and die. Instead, he held fast to the certainty that he needed not only great patience, but also strength to endure the hard times, which was the right choice in God’s eyes. Job’s story ended happily. The Lord rewarded him with a new family, more cattle than he had before, great wealth, and twice as much land. “ You see, my son, Job had a job to do: He had to remain faithful. Indeed, he suffered terribly, but never stopped loving, trusting, and serving the Lord. By doing so, he was returned to his former state. His story has provided comfort and assurance for all who follow the Bible’s teachings.” Reflecting on my beloved mentor’s story, I realized that sickness, like health, is part of human existence. It is an annealing experience that tests one’s tenacity and endurance, thereby making those virtues — as well as faith — stronger. Jaybird taught me what he knew: Job had a job to do.

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