In one day God allowed Satan to kill all Job’s children and destroy his business.
Job 27:2 (NIV)
“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul,
God … who has denied me justice.
God is unfair, and Job knew it.
And I agree with Job … somewhat.
Job was God’s top choice as to what it meant to be righteous and godly, and God let all kinds of terrible things happen to Job.
(NIV) Job 1:8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
Why would God allow Satan to do such awful things to a person he thought so much of?
Because Job needed to go somewhere.
He needed to leave his land of blessing for God’s land of blessing.
“Listen” to Job’s before and after.
(NIV) Job 42:3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
(NIV) Job 42:5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.
Job now saw the difference between the cushy life of enjoying God’s blessing and the reality of enjoying God.
God’s playing field is bigger than ours. He will allow unfair things, even direct the drama, so our story will grow past the immediate, the temporary to a story lived in eternity before the presence of God.
God’s playing field is forever, and we need to realize that to continue to trust his goodness and his direction for our lives.
The Good Shepherd leads us from our first moment of trust to a world beyond our comprehension.
Listen to Job again speak of things too wonderful for him to know.
(NIV) Job 42:3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
God has a journey planned for each of his children to the land of “too wonderful.”
And sometimes he seems very unfair in the process.
