Job was a righteous man. Just ask him. Job said in chapter 29, verses 14-17,
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
And all the efforts were in vain. “And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.” “He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.” (Job 30:16,19)
Was Job’s affliction unjust? Did God owe him for all his works? Elihu answers in Job 35:2, “Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s?” He goes on to say in verse 7, “If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?”
Indeed!
I’ve been learning to walk with God. I aspire to be just. I want to break the jaws of the wicked. I want to the man He calls me to be. But with that is a temptation to think I would be undeserving of any affliction. Truth is that I am still a sinner. I still fall far short. I don’t have anything to offer to God — He is the source of all.
Yes, I need to be faithful. Yes, I need to be righteous. But if I achieve any level of sanctity, it is only because of Him, and through Him.
Regardless, I’m still a sinner, and I’m thankful to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. It is only through grace that I am saved. I don’t deserve anything. I deserve far worse than the afflictions that I experience in this life.
For me, Job is a good reminder of this lesson.
