A Possible Enemy

10.17.13

Job 1.1 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. (ESV)

This is my favorite time of the year: the leaves are turning, the temperature is dropping, sweatshirts are uniform of the day, and I start reading Job. Great reading for this time of year.

I noticed in my commentary that the name Job, etymologically, can mean: “[my] enemy”, or “Where is my father?” When I think about these two possible meanings it makes my perspective of Job take on a different hue.

There is one school of thought which says: “enemy” may be a reference to Job’s attitude toward God in his suffering: God is Job’s enemy. The other part is Job’s response to God in that Job is the enemy of God’s interaction in his life. The “where is my father” slant appeals to me empathetically where one is dreadfully confused in his suffering and is drifting dangerously toward irreversible hopelessness. I think this slant is the slant of many who suffer – they just can’t find a way to pull it together. Who can blame them?

So, if Job is (possibly) an enemy who maybe thinks of God as (possibly) an enemy, then what is our understanding of the real enemy: Satan, the accuser, the adversary? Satan’s verbal assaults on God for coddling Job are simply terrorism or an attempt at it. Our adversary is a terrorist.

Job obviously didn’t ask for what he got and, I think, painfully lost his perspective of God. I think he put on a brave face and tried to be strong but so much came all at once and he just couldn’t bear it all. So much for the stoic…

And later, when Job’s “friends” show up it’s pretty clear they harbor some kind of suspicion that Job must’ve done something dreadful to merit the trauma he was experiencing.

It’s easy to find enmity in difficulty. It’s easy to look for a place to lay blame. Countless young Christians have cruised along blissfully thinking it’ll be smooth sailing now that they’re on board with God only to shipwreck in suffering: how could God do this to me!? What’d I do to deserve this!?

My friend, Jim Stephens posted this quote on Facebook the other night: There is a necessary suffering to human life, and if we avoid its cycles we remain immature forever. - Richard Rohr. So, despite our suffering, there seems to be a point to it all: we’re intended to grow in it. I think that happened to Job and I know it happens to me. Smallness makes God the unfair Meany in the midst of suffering. Maturity causes us to say: O God! How I need You in this!

Father, suffering is a precious tool in Your workshop where You transform ordinary people into extraordinary saints. My prayer is for patience, contentment, trust, and maturity in the process of the place I find myself today: feeling forgotten and underutilized. Suffering is necessary in one regard and the wise will accept it and embrace it, not in what it is doing to them, but what it is doing for them. Help me God! Amen.