Early in the account of Job’s response to his troubles, the Bible tells us that he did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Later however, as the weight of his suffering began to wear upon him over time, Job’s ongoing misery was overwhelming him. At this point He angrily accused God of wrongdoing, indifference, and injustice in his case, saying to his friends: “Know then that God has wronged me and closed His net around me.
Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer; I shout for help, but there is no justice. (Job 19:6-7).
Our response too will be much the same when in the depth of our sufferings we become angry at our sovereign God, whom we know could have prevented tragedy and grief from coming upon us but did not. At that point we too may rail against Him for all of the misery and suffering that He has allowed to come into our lives. When this happens with us as it did with Job, let us understand that God knows our weaknesses, and He has compassion on His children. David wrote in the Psalms:
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust. (Psalm 103:13-14).
We as believers have been given many comforts in the Scriptures concerning our sufferings, and we have been given many promises of God’s help and sustenance. Job did not have these comforts because the Scriptures had not been written during his lifetime, as many scholars consider the Book of Job to be the oldest book in the Bible.
Job withstood this tremendous trial of his faith not because of some strength that he pulled from deep within himself, whereby he managed to deal with all that had come upon him. Rather he persevered by the same power through which we also will persevere during the trial of our faith, and that is by the power of the Spirit of God. In the book of Zechariah we read these words: “… ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6).