The Long Suffering of Job
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but He will deliver them from them all. ”
The Book of Job is rather infamous among Christians for being difficult to deal with. The book starts off this way: “There was a man in the land of Austitis whose name was Job. That man was true, blameless, and God-fearing, and he abstained from every evil.” (Job 1:1). The book goes on to say that Job did nothing wrong and was a very devout man, making sacrifices for each of his children daily in case they had committed some sin. And then suddenly, with seemingly no explanation from Job’s perspective, he loses everything he has: all of his children die in a tragic accident, and all of his property is either plundered or destroyed. He is left with just himself and God, and is left to wonder: why did this happen? Have I done something wrong? Where is God in all of this suffering?
At first Job praises God despite his suffering, saying, “I myself came forth naked from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away: as it seemed good to the Lord, so has it come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21). But then later he starts to despair whether or not his suffering is worth it. He invokes a curse on himself and wishes for death, saying the following:
“For why is light given to those who are in bitterness, and life to those souls which are in griefs? who desire death, and obtain it not, digging for it as for treasures; and would be very joyful if they should gain it? Death is rest to such a man, for God has hedged him in… For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, whose violence drinks up my blood: whenever I am going to speak, they pierce me.”
Job’s words are extreme and are indicative of his extreme grief, yet I think his sentiment is somewhat relatable in our current situation. Most of the people reading this blog are devout Orthodox Christians. We go to Church. We go to confession. We receive Communion. We try to say our prayers in the morning and evening. We generally aspire to be good Christians. And yet, suddenly, without much explanation, a tiny virus has taken most of this away from us: most of us are no longer able to go to Church in person, and receiving the sacraments has become exponentially more difficult. How are we to react to this situation?
Like Job, I think that reacting with praising God is a good option. But, also like Job, questioning God is also a good option. We are allowed to cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” as Christ did (Matthew 27:46). Despite what our social media culture may tell us, we do not always have to be happy. We do not always have to have the answers. We are allowed to wrestle with God as Jacob the Patriarch did. And eventually, like the widow in the parable of the unjust judge, God will honor our perseverance and answer us. We do not know how, or why, or when he will answer us, but he will. He answered Job by eventually restoring him all his possessions, he answered Christ by not abandoning his soul to hell but raising him from the dead, and he will answer us too. Even in our greatest sufferings and temptations, God is with us and will always be with us, “even to the end of age.” (Matthew 28:20). May God grant us the patience and longsuffering of the righteous Job!
