Job is an unusually upright man. His conduct is above reproach. Yet calamity befalls him. In those days, it was believed that if something bad happened to a person it was due to their sins. But Job 2:3 is often interpreted to mean God allowed bad things to happen to Job without just cause. How could a righteous, just God do such a thing?
What if we interpreted this scripture differently such that God is telling Satan "You presented a case, made a request concerning Job but presented no evidence to support your case in order for me to grant that request yet I did so anyway" [to serve My ultimate purposes and plans].
Simply because satan presented no evidence doesn't mean there wasn't just cause for the testing of Job. God has a reason, a cause, a righteous cause, a just cause for everything God does. Stay with me. Satan sees behaviors. He doesn't judge the hearts of men. God knows Job's heart. Perhaps Job had a heart condition that could only be addressed and resolved through testing.
So what may have been Job's heart condition? We often talk about Job perhaps being fearful and that fear may have opened the door to calamity. That's a good argument since Job says "the very thing I feared has come upon me. " But the challenge with this argument is that scripture does not tell us that Job is restored after he took heart, had faith, believed, etc. Scripture tells us after Job HUMBLED himself he was restored. Was Job- the man described as perfect and upright, prideful?
Perhaps Job was perfect in all his WAYS and yet flawed in his THOUGHTS. His defect is not one of outward action but of inward thought, especially in how he perceived himself in relation to God, but also to fellow man. Perhaps there was a seed of pride hidden deep within his heart that was unearthed and plucked out through the process of trials and tribulations.
What evidence is there to support this? Job 29 tells us how Job sees himself and how he sees himself in relationship to others. Yes, his behavior is above reproach. But he exalts himself by using "I," "me," and "my" more than forty times in this very short chapter.
Job 9 tells us how Job sees himself in relationship with God. It's almost as if Job thought God was accoubtable to him instead of his being accountable to God. In chapter 9 Job complains that what he is enduring is completely and totally unfair and that God is wrong in permitting it to occur.
Job eventually surrenders to God and is humbled before the Ancient of Days. Then and only then is he restored. A lesson we often miss in the book of Job is true success in life comes from humbly submitting ourselves to God. How we perceive ourselves in relation to God and others matters and indicates our level of true humility.
Prayer:
God I thank You that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in Your image. I praise You. You are the Ancient of Days. You are the all wise, all-knowing, ever present, all-powerful, true and living God. God see me through the blood of your Precious Lamb. Forgive me all my sins. Blood out my transgressions. Lead me in the way everlasting for your namesake glory and honor.
God forgive me for pride and stubbornness. God visit the foundation of my being. Cleanse my paternal lineage and my maternal lineage from the spirit of pride. Reconfigure my very DNA to mirror that of Yeshua Hammashiach. Oh Lord my God however the spirit of pride has manifested in and through my life deliver me. Set me free. Break me out of the bondages of pride. Place your hook in the nostrils of the spirit of pride and pull it out of my mind, thoughts, heart, emotions, desires, will.
Lord, cause me to boast in You and You alone. Cause me to know at the deepest level of knowing and understanding that without You I am nothing, have nothing and can do nothing. Lord expose and pluck out every seed of pride that seeks vain glory. Lord expose and pluck out every seed of pride that would cause me to be unteachable, inflexible, unapproachable, off putting, self-protecting, puffed up and resistant to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Deliver me from every form of pride that thinks it knows better than You and those You have set in authority over me.
Lord, deliver me from every form of pride that would cause me to have a wrong view of myself and my relationship with You and others. Grant me the grace to trust and obey You and to humbly submit to Your sovereignty in all things. God Grant me the grace to esteem others above myself. Deliver me from every form of religious pride, legalism, and self righteousness.
Lord, wherever I've been defiled by the spirit of pride cleanse me. Cleanse my robe of righteousness and garments of salvation. Lord clothe me in humility. Let the fragrance of a broken spirit and contrite heart be upon me and emanate from deep within. May humility within me and upon my life be a sweet smelling savor unto You. May the essence of my being attract the Presence, Your favor and the favor of divine connections and destiny helpers. In Jesus" name I pray. Amen.
