We have come to the end where Job got what he seemingly earned because of his faith; happy ending! Did you happen to catch, however, the thing that Job had to do first? God told Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar that they had to have Job pray for them.

Have you ever been in an argument and, at a specific point in the argument, realized you were wrong? I have, too many times, usually with my wife! How do you respond? Typically, instead of admitting I’m wrong, I continue arguing in prideful stupidity.

Herein lies a point that is hard to take, especially in our western culture today: God does not owe us an answer, nor does He ever owe us an explanation for anything He does. He IS GOD and we ARE NOT! He is holy, just, perfect, righteous, and all-powerful. God does what He does because He sees the big picture, and we do not. He always has our best interests at heart.

If only Job’s friends had stayed silent after those seven days! Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for sympathy to turn to hostility and comfort to turn to condemnation! In these three chapters, Job crafted a sort of defense, starting with his bona fides.

One of my favorite Christmas movies is It’s a Wonderful Life. In the movie, George Bailey is in such dire straits that, while standing on a bridge, he contemplates jumping into the water below. After being rescued by his guardian angel, George says, “I suppose it would have been better if I’d never been born at all.” Job knew that feeling! Things were so bad that Job came to the point of cursing the day he was born.