“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.” Job 1:20
June 24, 2026
“Lord of all being, There is one thing that deserves my greatest care, that calls forth my ardent desires, That is, that I may answer the great end for which I am made- to glorify thee who hast given me being. . .” (A Puritan prayer). There are times when sorrows come not in as single spies, but in battalions. These words from Shakespeare remind us of those seasons when the bottom drops out of all that we were standing upon. It was that way with Job. He had lost almost everything, and there was even more loss to come. What did he do? He struck the note in worship which is God’s desire for our suffering that He might be valued above all else. Unrelenting bad news came crashing down on Job. Overwhelming grief laid him low. In it he seems to have identified with the dead (when “he shaved his head”).
But he does not blame God for his tragedies. There are not accidents in a world governed by God. There is even a mood of contentment after being buffeted by Satan (not known to Job). Is my response to personal suffering one of confidence and praise? “Heavenly Father, I need your grace to govern my sorrows, even when all logic and a complete perspective evades me.”
H
Reflections
Are there trials which leave you mentally tied in knots? Has there been worship? What does it look like?