Job lost everything save for his life, and that would have been crushing enough.  However, after faithfully and exceptionally serving God his whole life, for God to allow such destruction without an explanation left Job wishing he had never been born.  As if that were not enough, his wife rejected him and his friends grew adversarial, convinced Job’s misfortune was a result of hidden sin.  To most, his wife’s final words were the only logical recourse: “Curse God and die!”

Job proclaimed — and lived — the opposite: God could kill him, yet even then he would praise Him.  Job had spent a lifetime cultivating an understanding of and commitment to God’s true character, so that when hardship hit, spiritual muscle-memory kicked in.  His circumstances did not define God to him; God defined his circumstances.  The absolute worst could happen, and he was already resolved to trust the God of hope.

Hope for what?  Job did not know, only that God did.  Thus, he never gave up on God, even when absolutely nothing made sense.  That said, he still had much to learn about this incomprehensible God; he was convinced God owed him an explanation, and God graciously taught him otherwise.

Cultivating a right understanding of God in times of peace can equip us for times of war; yet even without, the Spirit can help us stand when logic tells us to fall.