20 Then Job got up and (Z) tore his cloak and shaved his head, and fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 He said:
“(AA) Naked I came out of my mother’s womb,
And naked I will return there.
The (AB) Lord gave and the Lord took away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22 (AC) In all this Job did not sin nor did [m]blame God. (Job 1:20-22, NIV)
As I sit here preparing for my sister’s funeral, I am reminded of a sermon preached at the funeral of another close relative. The preacher was also a relative and also drew the theme of him from the previous text. The topic was raised as a question: Can God trust you with problems? Of all the massive sermons I have heard and preached, this one resonates through my soul smoothly and relentlessly. What I have learned is that my faith is not based on the fruit of my conquered moments. It is not justified by the generosity I have accumulated. My faith is validated and confirmed in the midst of trials and adversity. So today I ask you the same question: Can God trust you with problems?
When we look at Job throughout this passage, we see a man who has lived his life in a way that was pleasing to God. In fact, God gives Job one of the most stellar reviews in the Bible. Let’s see how God describes Job in chapter 1.
8 And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a man of integrity and upright, who [reverently] fear God and abstain from and avoid evil [because it is wrong]? (Job 1:8, GPA)
God uses words like blameless and upright to describe Job. I want you to take note of something extremely relevant to the understanding of this message in its entirety. At the same time that God is giving Job this brilliantly pure review, he is volunteering him for the spiritual and physical hailstorm of the ages. “Have you considered my servant Job…” God is telling Satan if you are looking for someone to test, I offer Job. Understand this; if God offers you as a volunteer, you are definitely ready for the moment.
Why would God offer the best of himself to bear the worst? I’ll tell you why. In the legal world, whenever a testimony is rendered, the opposition has the right to cross-examine. In other words, testimony is not allowed to stand simply on its merits, it must stand up under cross-examination. The same is true with the Christian life. When you make your proclamation of faith you must understand that at some point your testimony will be contradicted by the vicissitudes of life. It doesn’t matter how tight you walk down the line. It doesn’t matter how often you pray. Regardless of the depth of your knowledge of the Scriptures, you will have to endure cross-examination from the enemy.
For all of Job’s loyalty, he reaped disaster. Throughout his righteous life, he encountered darkness. For every passionate prayer he prayed, he was met with news of death and loss. As we go through the book of Job, we learn that he did not understand his anguish. He couldn’t put a finger on the source of it; however, all he knew was that he had done nothing to deserve it. Wait, he maybe he did. When you live within the will of God and walk in your purpose, you put yourself dead in the sight of the enemy. When you make your proclamation of for God I live and for God I die, you become public enemy #1.
The scriptures tell us that in all this, Job did not sin. Job not only refrained from sin, but he found a way to praise God in the midst of his pain. When I think about this, that same question keeps ringing in the back of my mind: Can God trust you with problems? When all the eloquent words in the world cannot rescue you, and the sheer force of the enemy is directed against you and your loved ones, can God trust you with that pain?
When you can’t pray to drive away loneliness, will you still praise? When you can’t drive away the darkness with words, will you still show gratitude? When, in exchange for your love, your friends become your accusers, will you still proclaim the greatness of God? Oh, it’s easy to shout her praise when everything is going well in your life, but when the phone rings just to bring you more bad news, can you keep singing about her courage?
Your legacy will be established through how you face your trials. Your greatness will be revealed as you move inexorably towards your goal. Will your story reveal your worth or that you just buckled under the pressure? God wants to entrust problems to you. Well, can He?
