Do you find yourself questioning why you seem to be putting forth your all, yet the fruit of your labor is not evident? In fact, it seems to be nowhere in sight. You wake every morning and tend to your duties as you should. You care for your child, your husband, your home. You make time to pray and attend church. You don’t partake in worldly affairs. You’re genuinely a good person, a good Christian. But why does there seem to be no reward for your actions? Why does it seem that God is silent just when you need to hear from Him most?

A righteous man named Job experienced something very similar, and through his story, I find assurance.

Job was a wealthy man who served God wholeheartedly. He was blessed with “a very great household,” the “greatest of all the men of the east.” God labeled Job a righteous man and entrusted upon him much confidence. However, his shining resume and utter affection for God didn’t exempt him from life’s hardships.

Because Job was a child of God, the devil sought to destroy him. He insisted that Job only served God because of his fortune. Little did he know, however, Job’s faith would prove to stand the test of time. Through the heartache, destruction, and physical pain, Job refused to turn his back on God.

Satan was not wrong for assuming that Job only served God because of all he had given him. Although this was not an accurate assumption for Job, unfortunately, it is for many Christians. Too often people only serve God when everything is going right in their lives. As long as they are happy and prosperous, to God be the glory. But what happens when adversity hits? Their faith crumbles. For Job, however, adversity only strengthened his faith in the end.

True faith in God can withstand any storm.

Why did God allow such tragedy to fall upon such an upright man, though? The book of Job is a good example of a Christian suffering for no obvious, or even apparent, reason.

As Christian’s, we sometimes think because we are saved; because we follow Christ, that trouble will not find us. We expect a bounty for our servitude. While being a Christian certainly comes with great reward, we are not promised painless lives here on this earth. Unfortunately, man’s sin resulted in a life unfair. Too often we witness the bad going unpunished and the good being forgotten. While we as humans can not comprehend this injustice, our confidence in God and His ultimate purpose must outweigh our need for answers.

Dear weary heart, you may not benefit the results of your harvest now, but don’t worry child of God, your reward is in Heaven, not on this earth.

While Job refused to turn against God, he did question Him. He felt if he knew why he was going through such turmoil, it would ease his suffering. In the end, however, Job is reminded that we are not owed a why, nor could we even begin to comprehend God’s reasoning. His moral character is perfect. He, himself, is the standard of justice.

We often assume because we are sinless, we have no reason to suffer. We think serving God entails a life of prosperity, however, pain is not biased. Hardship is subject to the believer and unbeliever alike. While this may seem unfair, Christian’s have hope in knowing that we get to spend eternity with God. This is His promise to all who serve Him.

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” -Jeremiah 17:7-8

In the end, Job was blessed twofold. He refused to betray God despite all of his loss. Though Job didn’t expect a penance for his suffering, God didn’t let his faithfulness go unnoticed. We serve a merciful Father who will not let our prayers go unanswered, or our suffering last forever. We need only be still and trust Him.

Dear Lord, we know that we as Christian’s are not free from suffering, and though we may not understand why we must suffer, we still will choose to put our trust in you. When we are faced with tribulation, please help us to remember your promise of eternity. Help us to remember that our reward awaits us in heaven. Give us strength, please God, to weather the storms of life and to not grow weary in well doing. Amen.