The Compliment of Confidence
I am unquenchably fascinated with the book of Job. You might even call
it an addiction. Of the sixty-six books in the Bible, Job is, unequivocally, my
favorite. I read it often. Each time finding something that challenges me to a
more devoted relationship with Jesus. On a smaller scale, I often identify with
Job—both his frustration with his circumstances and his refusal to deny his
God. I aspire to reach his spiritual height. I strive to serve God with that
amount of devotion. I am desperate to have God’s vote of confidence in my
commitment to Him.
The first time I really locked on to the verse in Job 1:8, where God
points out Job’s righteousness to Satan, I felt outraged that God would throw
Job under the bus like that. It's almost like God was offering him up to be
tested. God even chatted him up a little. Listed his attributes. In God’s
words, Job was perfect, feared God, and shunned sin. Satan couldn’t wait to get
his hands on him. Can you imagine the overwhelming sense of abandonment Job
must have felt? He lost his possessions, his livelihood, his children. And
while he didn't quit the faith, he didn’t see the trial for the fantastic
moment that it was either. That giant list of horrific events blocked his view
of what God was truly saying.
It took me a bit, but I finally saw it for what it was—the greatest
compliment ever bestowed. God cast a vote of confidence in Job’s level of
commitment to Him. God knew that Job was so committed to Him, so in love with
Him, so devoted to their relationship that nothing could destroy it. Job's
faithful response to his trial embodied the then unwritten words of I
Corinthians 10:13 where we are promised that God won’t let us be tempted more
than he’ll give us the strength to withstand. He was condemned by his friends
and encouraged by his wife to quit the faith, yet Job upheld his commitment to
God even when it got so ugly he couldn’t stand himself. In return God gave Job
the strength to endure, wrapped up in one giant unspoken compliment. The
compliment of God's confidence in Job's commitment to him. And just like that
the trial of Job goes down as one of Satan’s epic failures, an attempt foiled
before it had even begun.
The story stirs my being. I rarely see
my trials as compliments. I am often beleaguered by doubt and feel like I am
fighting the battle alone. When
I am trapped in a bottomless pit of trials, no escape in sight, I take refuge
in the story of Job and find strength in the fact that God doesn’t give me more
than he is able to help me endure. My resolve strengthens. I remember my goal.
I seek to be one of Satan’s epic failures. I strive to maintain a bond with God
that can withstand any test. I search to find the compliment in the confusion.
I covet nothing more wholeheartedly than God’s vote of confidence. There is no
greater compliment, no higher achievement, no loftier commendation. I find
myself once again striving toward the mark. I long for God, who knows my innermost
heart, to know that my commitment to him is not dependent upon clear skies and
smooth seas. I pray that my commitment to God be strong enough to gain the
compliment of his confidence.
So when you are stuck in the darkest part of your deepest valley hold
fast the faith, remember that God doesn't give you more than his strength can
help you handle, and he has complete confidence in your faithful commitment to
him. Look diligently for the compliment in the confusion, and rest in the
knowledge that God has more confidence in you than you have in yourself.