Was Job Really Patient or Was He Just Real?

I don’t know about you, but the book of Job is one of the hardest books in the Bible for me to read and understand.  The first part is pretty clear though – Job went through a lot!  He lost his livestock, his house, and his children in a short time period.  He developed terrible, painful sores.  His wife turned against him.  And after all that, as he sat on a pile of ash, his friends who had come to comfort him started to take turns accusing him of all kinds of sin and wrongdoing to explain his bad fortune.  That is an inconceivable amount of pain to endure. 

What is the correct and worshipful way to approach God when we find ourselves asking “why”?

If there was anyone who had a reason to ask “why”, it had to be Job.  Yet every time I heard about Job, I heard about his patience.  I saw him as the ideal of faith – the person who endured everything and never complained about anything.  And I felt like a patience failure.  You know the feeling?  Of course, that was when I had not yet really read the book.  Job was anything but patient.  Yes, he endured, but it turns out he also complained – a lot!  So then I had to ask myself a few questions.  If Job complained so much, why do we always talk about the patience of Job?  What about all of that complaining – what did God think about it?  What is the correct and worshipful way to approach God when we find ourselves asking “why”?

The definition of patience we use today is different from the old Greek understanding of patience.

First, let’s look at why we call it the patience of Job.  That idea actually comes from another book of Scripture.  In James 5:11 (KJV), we read: “Behold, we count them happy which endure.  Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”  The patience of Job – there it is.  I chose the King James version because that is the version in which this saying originally appeared.  The problem, though, is that the definition of patience we use today is different from the old Greek understanding of patience.  It is like when, later in the verse, it says that the Lord is very pitiful.  The intent is to say the Lord is full of pity and mercy for us.  But in a modern definition, we would say that a pitiful Lord is a pathetic Lord, and we all know that is definitely not true.  

Job was human and he was real.

The word for patience here is hypomonēn and is better translated as meaning perseverance or endurance, which is what you will find in most modern translations of the Bible.  Job did endure – he never cursed God and died, like his wife was trying to get him to do.  But he didn’t do it patiently in our modern view of patience.  There was no silent, calm acceptance of his fate.  Job is a “type” of Jesus – he is a foreshadowing of the suffering that Jesus would endure for our sins.  But he was no Jesus. In suffering, Jesus was the patient, calm, silent sufferer.  Job was – well – more like me!  He was impatient, demanding, asking “why”, even going so far as to call God unjust.  He was human and he was real.

God called Job righteous.

Now before we get too judgmental of poor Job, let’s remember what God said about him. In Job 1:8, God calls Job righteous:  “There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”  That is a big deal when God calls someone righteous.  Remember who else He called righteous in the Old Testament?  Abraham.  Now Abraham was no perfect person.  There are several incidents where he doesn’t show his best side.  His lying to Pharaoh about Sarah, his dealings with Hagar to get a son outside of God’s plan.  So why does God call him righteous?  Genesis 15:6 says: “Abraham believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness”.  It was his faith that got him the “righteous” title.  And it is the only way that any of us can be declared righteous by God, even Job. 

Job was righteous because he kept believing.

Job does a pretty good job when he is arguing with his friends explaining why he doesn’t deserve such treatment by showing us how good he is in his own efforts.  He gives us a detailed list of all the good deeds and works he has done – taking care of widows and feeding strangers and other admirable acts.  But God has allowed Satan to strip away every possible means of Job doing anything for anybody.  Yet Job is still righteous.  And in Job 1:22, we are told why:  “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”.  It is because he never curses God.  He keeps believing.  He keeps believing through all of the pain, the humiliation, the rejection of his friends, and even the complaining and asking “why”. 

Things fell apart when Job decided that he knew better than God and that God wass unjust.

There isn’t a problem until Job starts questioning whether God is fair.  Things fall apart when Job decides that he knows better than God and that God is unjust.  Job sins by charging God with wrongdoing.  It is a moment of losing faith. He gives a lengthy explanation of how good he has been.  Then he ends by calling God to give an accounting for Himself in Job 32:35: “Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sing now my defense – let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing.”  In other words, Job is saying he has proven that he has been dealt with unfairly and he wants God to defend why He is being so unjust.  And unfortunately for Job, God does just that.  He speaks to Job for 4 chapters (chapters 38-41), telling him in no uncertain terms who is the God of this universe and who isn’t.  I can’t even imagine what it would be like to get a 4-chapter-long chewing out by God.   Job’s first response is to say, “I am speechless” (Job 40:4-5).  His next response is to repent.  And after he repents, everything he lost is restored to him and more. 

It is okay to cry out to God when you don’t understand. It is not okay to accuse Him.

So what can we learn about suffering and questioning and faith and asking “why” from Job?  First of all, God didn’t get upset that Job was vocal about his suffering.  God didn’t even get upset about Job asking “why”.  God wants honest, open communication from us.  He understands we are human, and we have needs and wants because of it.  God would rather we talk to him when we are scared, hurt, depressed, and frustrated, then that we turn away.  But God is also God.  He is worthy of respect and honor and awe and fear.  We cross the line when our “why’s” turn into “we know better”.  It is ok to honestly cry out to God when you don’t understand what is going on and ask to why you have to go through this.  It is not okay to then tell God that He is unfair, unjust, and unloving.

God very seldom answers “why’s”. 

Secondly, we need to realize that Job never got an answer to his question of “why”.  We, as the readers, get to see the backstory – the dialogue between God and Satan where God knows Job so well that He knows Satan will not win, no matter what he tries.  We get to see that God already knew the outcome and that God would not only defeat Satan, but would teach Job some things about himself.  But Job never gets to see that.  That is such a hard truth!  God very seldom answers “why’s”. 

Knowing why probably wouldn’t take all the pain out of our situations.

I know I struggle with that, and I know you do, too.  We think, “If only we could see why God was allowing this, then it wouldn’t hurt so much.”  Sadly, I don’t think knowing why would have made it hurt less for Job – he would still have lost everything and the sores would be just as painful.  And knowing why probably wouldn’t take all the pain out of our situations, either.  But knowing why might make us start to question God more.  Can you imagine what Job might have felt if he had known about the conversation with Satan?  He would have lost entirely the new, deeper understanding of his own heart and the power and sovereignty of God that he gained in this experience.  So we just have to trust.  We just have to believe that God would tell us why if it would make the situation better.  We have to have faith.

The “what’s” are going to get the answers we want and need.

If God doesn’t answer “why’s”, what does He answer?  He answers “what’s”.  He answered Job’s “what do have to you say for yourself” by coming down and speaking four chapters of sovereignty and power!  He answered the question Job should have asked: “What does this reveal about me that I need to work on?”  He answered Job’s plea for forgiveness.  He answered Job’s need by restoring all that he had lost and more.  A desperate but respectful “why” is okay just to get some of the pain and anguish out and give it to God honestly.  But the “what’s” are going to get the answers we want and need.

I got affirmations that He was there, He cared, He was in control, and I was exactly where He wanted me to be.

I have had some frustrated “why’s”.  Why is nothing going the way I had planned?  Why has so much of what I have tried to do to serve God not gone like I had hoped?  Why aren’t You giving me some relief from doubts and fears and even pain, God?  Why is this person or that person not there for me the way I wanted?  God is the patient one – I am not.  He listened.  He understood.  And He didn’t answer.  Here are the questions that I started to ask instead, and He did answer:  What do you want me to learn from this?  What is the direction you want me to go?  What people are the ones to walk beside me?  And hardest of all, what is wrong in my own heart that is causing so much grief and confusion?  It is that last question that God answered most powerfully.  It is that last question that made me see that I was making it about me and not about serving Him.  It was that last question that brought me to humility and repentance.  And when I repented, God blessed me with what I really wanted – I got affirmations that He was there, He cared, He was in control, and I was exactly where He wanted me to be.  And it doesn’t get any better than that! 

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way of understanding.” (Psalm 139:23-24).

There was a reason David said, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way of understanding.” (Psalm 139:23-24).  It is something I need to remember.  It is something I pray you remember, too, the next time you are tempted to turn your “why’s” into “I know better.”

I hope today’s message touched your heart, increased your understanding, and encouraged you.  Praying the peace and comfort of Christ Jesus on your life.