Character

“And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”” ~ Job 1:21

He sits in ashes, covered in sores. Every movement hurts, his skin is cracked and brittle. His breath smells terrible. He has lost everything. His wealth is gone, his family has all been killed, and his health is failing. This is Job.

Job is a man who has lost it all, yet in his misery he will not forsake God. Job knows God, and knows that God is at work in his life. Even though times have become harder than Job could ever imagine, Job does not curse God. Instead, Job seeks an answer from God. Job wants to know what God is doing and how God is working. His wife and his friends do not understand. They believe that Job needs to give up or to repent of some great sin. Job knows that he lives in a broken world and that things are not always what they seem. What others see as punishment, Job simply sees as life. He still wants answers. Yet, Job knows that only God can give those answers. And so Job waits and asks.

Character is defined by the sum total of our actions and thoughts. To see a person’s character, you must watch a person for a while. As we read through the Book of Job this week, notice the way that Job clings to God. See how Job waits. Watch as Job contends with his friends and answers a young man’s questions. Job is constant. He knows that God is at work, so Job rests in the hands and will of God.