CONSIDER JOB’S WIFE

CONSIDER JOB’S WIFE

In one day Mrs. Job lost all of her children and all of her family’s wealth. Shortly thereafter her husband was stricken with a disease of boils from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. She lost everything and had no hope of it getting better. Her angst can be seen in her comment to Job, “are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job 2:9 (NIV). I do not see this as a sign of a moral deficit on her part but as the sign of a person pushed to their breaking point. Job’s response to her seems to back this up in that he tells her “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Job 2:10 (NIV). In saying this Job’s reaction to her appears to be surprise that she is acting out of character. His comment seems to be his reminding her of a truth she already knows but has, in her grief, looked past.
Another interesting example to consider is Bathsheba. The story of how David took her as his wife and the death of their first born is a well worn path. We never consider how this death affected Bathsheba. Her son is dead because of something David did. The Scriptures make it clear that David was the one being dealt with but she is suffering as much if not more than him. At least David knew why the child died.
To me the interesting part of these stories is what these women went through so their husbands could learn a truth about God. God’s Plan to provide a lesson to Job and David, and through them to all of us, cost Mrs. Job literally almost everything she had and cost Bathsheba her child. And it wasn’t even about them.
This challenges me to consider if the things I am going through in my life are meant as a learning and training point for me or if I am just a part of someone else’s lesson. Is it possible that my suffering is not the center of the world? That God can be permitting what I am going through as a side-effect of someone else’s training?
How often do we go to God and ask him for relief from whatever is troubling us without recognizing that we are in effect asking God to stop working in another’s life. Or how often are we like Job and David and perhaps we are the one God is working on but we neglect to consider those effected by what is happening in our lives.
I know with my bi-polar that I am, at times, a challenge to live with for my family and that they are suffering alongside me but I don’t always consider this. I act like I am the center of the world. Something I need to consider is that perhaps my Bi-polar is not about me but is there to teach my family a lesson they will need later in life and I am just the vessel being used for their training.
In the end it all falls back to God’s plans being above and beyond us. God has a plan for what we are each dealing with and perhaps someday we will understand it and perhaps not. This doesn’t lessen the fact that God is in control and that when we question God’s plan we are acting like a “foolish woman” and we need to remember Job’s admonitions that: “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” and “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” Job 2:9 (NIV) & Job 42: 2-3 (NIV)