I just finished Job in my read through the Bible plan and noticed something that had not occurred to me before. At the end of the book, Job does not get an explanation for his suffering, but his suffering ends and his fortune is restored two fold. Job has also repented of his questioning/accusing of God for treating him unjustly. So all’s well that ends well?

Here is my thought…. even though Job’s tragedy is over and his fortune is restored, it could happen again. You might object that the test is over and God would not test Job again. But Job does not know that it was a test. He has not been given an explanation for why he suffered such disasters, so he now has to understand that life can include such disasters for no discernible reason. Since he does not know why it happened, he does not have the ability to prevent it. He can trust that God is not capricious and has purposes that he cannot understand. But he is left with a perspective that his life can be capricious. That is a product of him never getting any explanation for his suffering.

This does not just apply to his life, but to the lives of those he cares about. Job’s restoration includes replacing his seven sons and three daughters. But this feels off because you cannot replace people. We know that he still suffers the grief of losing his original children. We hear in 1:5 how Job would consecrate his children after their feasts to protect them in case they had sinned. But that did not protect them, and now Job even understands that living a righteous life does not protect a person either. In the end Job can choose to trust God, but he cannot trust that his life, or the lives of those he cares about, will necessarily reflect that God is just, good and powerful. This is the new reality that Job is living in.

This is the reality of our work lives as well. We do not secure flourishing at our work by devoting our work to the Lord, always obeying His voice and conducting ourselves righteously. Those are all good things and often do lead to success, but there is no guarantee. God can allow devastating work tragedies for no discernible reason, no lesson to be learned that will secure success in the future. If you are seeking to control your work outcomes through faith and faithfulness to God, you may be disillusioned because God is not a means to an end.

How do you pursue your work if you have experienced failure, which is tragedy in your work life? Proverbs is the next book in my read through the Bible plan and verse 1:33 stood out in light of Job, “whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” Verses like this are the basis of Job’s complaint against God because that was not his experience. Given that experience, how does Job move forward in his life without dread of disaster? He can no longer count on his righteousness to protect him from disaster. He can trust that if disaster comes, God is good, just, in control, and has a purpose that may be beyond Job’s ability to comprehend. This trust does not prevent disaster, but it does help him not to dread it.

Likewise, you cannot prevent work failure through your best efforts or by faithfully entrusting your work to God. Sometimes failure is an opportunity to learn what you did or are doing wrong. But sometimes God allows failure and you do not know why. You can trust that God has a plan even when that plan is beyond your comprehension. You do not need to know why. You need to know that God is trustworthy in His goodness, justice and power.

I am going to end this blog with a question to ponder. Someone recently shared with me a phrase she came across about things that “keep leading us into trust.” I thought of that with Job’s story. How does a Job like experience of suffering for no reason we can fathom keep leading us into trust?

I would love to connect with you about these posts if they have stirred any thoughts or questions. Take a minute, shoot me an email at bo@leavenedlives.org, and let’s see where that takes us.