26. The enemy within

Romans 12:2: "And be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may be prove of what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Life has become very hard hitting and sometimes very dangerous and unpredictable. There are going to be times in your life when you will have to face some pain and adversity. How you handle those situations has a lot to do with how you think about the situations. There are afflictions and pain all around you, and it will be good to study some of the Bible characters like Job and his wife to find out what it was that brought the one to her knees while the other one was still okay.

I've often wondered what made the difference in their experience, their attitude and the way they acted. Because Job is so in our foreheads, we sometimes forget about Mrs Job. We think of Job and everything he lost, but we forget he had a wife who basically lost everything that he lost as well. She also lost her children. The livestock that was destroyed, killed, burnt or captured, was also hers. The servants who were killed or taken captive were also hers. We forget that the effects of life also took its strain on her.

We see two very different responses to the trials of life in these two people. When we read Job 1:20-22, we see Job's reaction after all the bad news of the destruction came to him and the mayhem that had been left behind. Verse 20 says: "Then Job stood up and tore his clothes in grief. He shaved his head and threw himself face downwards on the ground." It sounds very negative, but then what he said in verse 21 is very different: "I was born with nothing, and I shall die with nothing. The Lord gave, and now He has taken away. May His name be praised!" Very interesting reaction that came from Job. An apparent loss, but then a victory in how he reacted and responded. Then Job 1: 22 says: "In spite of everything that had happened, Job did not sin by blaming God."

Job's response was positive to a very negative situation. We do not read much about Mrs Job, but there is one passage in the book of Job that tells us how Job's wife responded to this apparent grief and destruction and mayhem that followed in their lives. Job 2:9 says Job's wife went to him after he became ill and while he was sitting on the ash heap busy scratching his sores in the dust. She said to him: "You are still as faithful as ever, aren't you? Why don't you just curse God and die?"

Job answered: "You are talking nonsense! When God sends us something good, we welcome it. How can we complain when He sends us trouble?" Even in all the suffering, Job said nothing against God. It is a very interesting reaction. The sentence where Job's wife spoke to him might seem very insignificant, but think about the implications of it. If it was your wife asking why you are being a good little boy? Why you are being faithful to your God? Why you don't just curse God and let Him kill you? How would you feel if your wife asked you why you don't just die? Why you don't just let God kill you?

There definitely was conflict between the two of them and their responses were completely different. Her response was very negative while his was somewhat positive. There are three factors that made a difference in their reactions, namely their emotions, their thoughts and their actions.

Let us consider Job first. What was Job's emotions in the loss that he suffered? He was sad and I believe he was shattered. We see in his actions how shattered he was. He was so saddened that he shaved his head, he fell down to the ground and he tore his robe. His emotions were very realistic for the situation that he found himself in.

But then his thoughts were very different. His thinking pattern was more rational. He spoke out loud what he was thinking. He said what happened was very bad, but he came into the world with nothing, so who was he to complain when everything was taken from him. He came in naked and he would leave naked. So his mind and his reasoning were very positive.