Most of us have heard people mention “the patience of Job.”  Funny, but I seem to remember Job opening his mouth to curse the day of his birth in the first lines of chapter 3 (of this 42-chapter book.)  Maybe Job is about more than patience; a tale to be read rather than a lesson to be learned.

One commentator reminds us that “The book of Job does not explain the mystery of suffering or ‘justify the ways of God’ with human beings, but it does probe the depths of faith in the midst of suffering.”

Reading Job is about sitting beside someone in their struggles.

Job 42:1-6

42 Then Job answered the Lord:

² “I know that you can do all things
    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
³ ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me that I did not know.
⁴ ‘Hear, and I will speak;
    I will question you, and you declare to me.’
⁵ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
    but now my eye sees you;
⁶ therefore I despise myself
    and repent in dust and ashes.”

Prayer

God of our Lives, let us place ourselves in your presence, as we travel this journey here on earth. Forgive and redeem us, through our Lord Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.