Job’s seven sons and three daughters were almost perfect children. His sons were independent, and his daughters were what daughters should be in those days. He did not have any delinquents or drug addicts, or rebellious children. Someone once said that the definition of a successful family is not having any felons. Yet, it’s not so much about what the kids don’t do as it is about what they do do. In this case, they were successful in providing for themselves and had harmonious relationships, and enjoyed each other, to Job’s delight. But Job wanted more than harmony and prosperity for his children. He wanted them to love and trust God. In Job 1:5, we see this concern for his children, “And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus, Job did continually.” Job wasn’t so much worried about his kids’ behavior; he was worried about their trust in God as a good God that loved them and had their best interest foremost in mind, regardless of what God might allow into their lives. The idea of “cursing God” is an important one in the book of Job. His wife will call him to do that very thing in response to the trials that come into his life. Job won’t do that. He holds on to his faith in God, and as he says later, “though He slays me, yet will I trust Him.” This attitude is what Job desires in his children.

There will be things that come into our lives that will challenge our faith in God. There will be some temptations. God tells us “NO,” like any good parent, when we go for things that are not good for us. Trusting God to know what’s best for us is sometimes hard to do when we want things that have been forbidden. There will also be trials. Where temptations pull us to doubt God’s good intentions toward us when he withholds something from us, trials pull us to doubt God’s good intentions toward us when he removes something good from our lives. We’ve all lost loved ones. We’ve lost jobs or money or had diagnoses that are not good. In all those times, Job wants to be sure that his children do not doubt God’s love and good intentions. This is what “faith” really is. It’s not just believing that God exists. It’s believing that no matter what comes into my life, or no matter what is forbidden to me, I trust God to have my best interest foremost in mind.

I love one blogger’s personal understanding of this. He writes, “One thing we can know for sure is that God has our best interest at heart. When He says do something or don’t do something else, it is for our good. Proverbs 3:11 says, My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Growing up, I didn’t always like to do what my parents said. There were times when I had other ideas and my ideas were better – or so I thought. I know it was the same for my three boys. Growing up I knew for sure that my ‘wisdom and ways’ and my ‘guidance and guidelines were not always their first choice. There were times when they had better ideas – or so they thought. Looking back, I know that my parents always had my back. They had my best interest at heart. And my wife and I always had our boys’ backs. Their best interests were our first concern. How much more true this is with our heavenly Father. God has our best interest at heart – always. When He tells us to be wise and do certain things and live a certain way, it is always for our best; we never have to wonder. We don’t need to overthink it. And when He tells us not to do something or not to live a certain way, we can know that He is not trying to ‘restrict’ our freedom or invade our space. On the contrary, He is wanting to bless our lives and see us flourish. Why do we fight God so often? In what areas are you bristling under the Lord’s leadership in your life? If we just step back a moment and remember that His ways are always best and always wise, we would serve ourselves well to be quick to obey – and obey completely. God loves you. God loves me. His ways are always best. May we be quick to heed and fast to follow.”[1]

[1] https://bcachurch.com/principle-5-realize-that-god-has-our-best-interest-at-heart/