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.