See the World How Job Did.
By: Nathan Levingston
Tags: Bible, Suffering, Christianity, Job, Church

Now I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” are perhaps the most powerful words ever spoken by a man other than Jesus. I say this out of personal conviction, but there is something far more than the particular in these words. Scholars have debated on what “repentance” means in this context, especially regarding Job’s actions (whether he sinned or not is not a primary focus of this discussion), but one thing is for certain: every believer can learn from Job’s suffering and search for meaning.

“Repentance” takes many forms in scripture, but it is usually associated with a change of mind or will, against something that has caused one to sin. In the Book of Job more specifically, the idea of repentance is seemingly associated with the recognition of his finitude in the face of great adversity. There is not much in the Book of Job to indicate that sin brought upon Job’s suffering, especially in God’s remarks about Job in the first and last chapters, respectively. Although Job’s three friends, his “miserable comforters”, insist he does sin, there is nothing in the text that details a specific sin that led to Job’s distress.

Perhaps it was pride, some might say. Job trusted mostly in his own works, his own efforts to make God happy. Maybe it was his distrust in the Lord? Even during his darkest moments, Job simply did not exercise enough faith in God. As if the human condition allows the will to generate faith enough to please God. Or maybe it was Job’s lack of love, his inability to see the world the way his friends did? Job just did not see it the right way. He just did not understand the world how his friends did.

I, for one, do not like to view the book of Job primarily from the lens of sin. I want to view it through Jobs eyes, and most importantly, through God’s eyes. What does God have to say about his servant? How does Job view the world around him, and his friends? These questions I keep in my mind as I am writing about this and as I speak about this scripture. But we often view other people and things differently than we view ourselves, so I want to be careful to make the same mistake Job’s friends did, when they denied his justification and instead pointed to his sinfulness – the same nature inherent within themselves, and made his weaknesses a point of contention. For starters, let us see what God has to say about Job,

“And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Job 1:9–10

In God’s eyes, Job is justified by his faith. God does not consider Job’s obvious flaws but looks at his faith. This is demonstrated throughout the text of the scripture, and perhaps most profoundly in chapter 19 when Job sings, “I know my redeemer lives.” Job held on to the hope of his savior. He held on to the hope of God’s sovereign will and beautiful means of carrying it out.

Job held on, not to his suffering, but to the hope that was born from it. This hope formed the basis to Job’s worldview, when at the very end of the book Job last words were, “I repent in dust and ashes.” This, as stated above, has been a point of discussion since the scripture was first penned down, but for the purposes of this article it can be pinned down as a declaration of victory – a resignation to God’s will and purposes for his life. This form of resignation is not giving up, but simply trusting in the unfathomable providence of God.

When Job says, “I repent,” he does not mean, “I have sinned” (which he has), but I change my mind – I can no longer do it myself. I will let you take the wheel, my Lord, for you will steer it well.

As Christians, we should have the worldview of Job. God, in his providence, orders all things for our good. And because we know that God is in control, we know that we will be alright. God can and does work miracles, and the essence of our faith is trusting that his providence will deliver us from all adversity, in the same way he did with Job. This is the beauty of God and his mystery, he never leaves us, even in times when it seems he has. And in this mystery of simultaneous absence and presence, we can find meaning in the seeming contradictions of life.

Job’s fortunes were returned and multiplied after his bout of suffering, and while not every Christian will have the life or outcome of Job, the holding on to the hope of what Job had and has now is what all Christians should strive for. To be like Job, who, after losing it all, became endowed with wisdom and faith and is now singing the song of the Lord with the chorus of Saints.