Testing the Delicate

Knowing that if we have faith in God we will have great lives, the bible introduces another element, suffering in God’s name. By showing evil and all that God will do to test his children he gives the example of a faithful and productive person, Job. “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” -1:1 As we have seen in other parts of the bible, God is an entity that tests the faithfulness of his people. Bringing evil to the picture, God admires the faithful tested through horrible event/impossible choices. By testing Job he shows us that he will test our faith in him and by our blind faith in him we will prove if we are real believers and worthy of all his love and protection.

By attacking Job’s weak points, his family and greatness, we find ourselves analyzing Job’s true character, courage and faith. One wonders if one has been tested or what would one do in the face of such a test? In moments of trouble one sees who is the real person, he who accepts what is happening and acts upon it instead of blaming God for his suffering, he is the true believer. “A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.” -10:22 When one even considers that life isn’t for one any more and that light will never appear in one’s life we see that the glass broke because of the tight hand and that there is no going back, life isn’t worth it any more and we decide that it is God’s fault that we are even alive. This is what God’s testing finally brought to one of his believers. In a way the tested and the tester are one,
because it all depends on one’s perceptions and judgments and world views about what is really going on.