[May 18, 2024] When we experience hardship or suffering, an old idiom informs us to “Have the patience of Job.” True enough, I never got the whole meaning, but I better understood it during my time in combat. So, what is this story that had such an effect on me as an Army Officer? Here is the story of Job.
The Biblical story of Job is a story of suffering. It’s about suffering from random tragedies and, worse, malevolence. We discover at the story’s beginning that Job is a good man, and we have the witness of God who comments about Job’s virtues. What then happens is that Satan goes to God and says that he doesn’t believe that Job is that good but perhaps just fortunate.
God continues to believe in the goodness of Job. So, Satan goes to God and asks to have a go at him to see if he can crack Job’s goodness. Good relents and tells Satan to do his worst. Job loses everything that he has worked for and much of his family. He becomes so sick that he is disfigured, and his friends tell him that it is Job’s fault.
Job’s response is to insist that despite the tragedies that have occurred to him, it is still necessary to keep one’s faith in the goodness of the individual. Job’s wife tells him to shake his fist against God, but Job refuses to lose faith in his goodness and the goodness of God.
This point is crucial, and why I like this story is that we must believe in the idea that no matter what happens to us, if we conduct ourselves ethically, then whatever happens is the best that could have happened. We must also not lose faith in the essential being itself. These are religious maxims that are best described as having faith.
On another note, the Biblical story of Job sets up our mindset for the story of Christ’s crucifixion.
Another old expression says, “There are no atheists in a foxhole.” Some might believe this means someone gains faith only as a reaction to mortal danger, prompting a belief in a higher religious power. I don’t believe this.
What is more likely is the idea that, like Job, no matter the severity of a threat, those who maintain faith in the righteousness of their mission, their unit, and their comrades, and in God, will more likely succeed. And their faith in God, while not taking away their fear of death, indeed allows them to be braver.
The Biblical story of Job is often told by Chaplains across all branches of the military just for this reason. It is not to use Biblical teachings as a pretext to create fearless robots without an ethical basis, but to ensure that that soldier maintains his goodness in an environment of death and destruction.
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A wonderful story of Job but one that is also tragic from malevolence and tragedy. Let us all learn this well.
Gen. Satterfield, very inspiring.
The New Testament provides an answer to this question. God allowed Jesus to suffer pain and shame on the cross because God had a plan for humanity. If the Father allowed His beloved Son to suffer the way Jesus did on the cross, why can’t He allow a simple man such as Job to suffer so that the Father’s purpose may be accomplished? The story of Job reminds us that God has a plan in everything he does.
Point well taken, Jerome. This is one of the parts of the Bible where the lesson is most often missed by us. We hear folks say, “Why does God allow such evil and tragedy in the world to happen?” The answer is here. ❤
God told Job about his suffering by giving two answers.
1. First, the Lord reminded Job that He (God) was in charge of the universe.
2. Only God has total control over the events in every human being’s life.
Just me thinking. I hope I got a little of what Gen. Satterfield was thinking here. 😀
Excellent!!!! Kenny, you nailed it.
nice, general satterfield
Excellent article, I’m glad you were so influenced by it. Another way to say this is to be “dedicated to God” or “dedicated to the place where you work.”
Many of us go through some of the challenges that Job went through in his life, though not all at once. Loss of property, financial decline, humiliation, and death of a loved one are only some of the things that seem to follow us in our lifetimes. For those of us who have experienced tragedy, the story of Job holds a special place in our hearts because it teaches us always to trust God no matter what we might face in this world.
I thank you for your comment, Pastor John 🙏. What Gen. Satterfield is saying, is that there is more to it than that. It means, I think, that for your organization/institution to succeed/win, you have to be brave to the end. 🙏 I hope I got that right.
Lynn, I think you might be right. Here is the main point Gen. S. is making “What is more likely is the idea that, like Job, no matter the severity of a threat, those who maintain faith in the righteousness of their mission, their unit, and their comrades, and in God, will more likely succeed. And their faith in God, while not taking away their fear of death, indeed allows them to be braver.” – Gen. Doug Satterfield.
Yes, good point…….. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏