Worship from the First Church of Uz

A man called Job

Do you ever have days when nothing seems to be going right? I do, and I know how incredibly frustrated and grumpy I can get on those days. In fact, if I were honest, I could say that on certain days it is really easy for me to be bent out of shape over the simplest things. At times, the simplest things seem to make us lose focus on what really matters.  If simple things make us lose focus I wonder what serious things would do?

One of my favorite worship songs is “Blessed Be Your Name.” As believers, we have the ability to worship God regardless of our circumstances. That does not mean that we will constantly be happy and that every day is great, but it does mean we live to humble ourselves in worship before the sovereign most high God of the universe. The bridge of the song says: “you give and take away, you give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name.” How many of us can truly say that the desire of our heart is to worship the Lord in spite of what we might be dealing with, or what might have been “taken.”

I am constantly amazed by Job, who is described in Job 1:1 as a blameless and upright man who feared God and steered clear of evil. Job was an incredible God-follower even before his suffering!  Job 1:13-19 explains how Job lost all of his family and possessions.  My favorite verses here are 1:20-22:

“At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:

   ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

   and naked I will depart.

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;

   may the name of the LORD be praised.’

 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

While most people would have responded with a “why God, why,” Job responded in worship. It was not that Job was happy in his circumstances (we know he was grieved because he tore his clothes), but it was that in a tragic circumstance he still acknowledged that God was in control. Job honestly humbled himself as he bowed down before His sovereign God. It was as if Job was saying, “No matter what happens, to God be the glory.” Sometimes it seems that we have this picture of worship that is always happy and energetic, while the reality is that genuine worship can also happen in times of despair, hopelessness, and sadness. Those moments bring people closer to God.  They continue to realize they must rely more on Him; yet they also choose to bless the name of the Lord.

To me it is clear that Job understood some basic, yet essential elements of Biblical worship.

First, as verse one explains, he understood the importance of living a Holy life in which he feared the Lord. Throughout Scripture there are innumerable connections between living a holy life and having a healthy fear of the Lord. These two elements of Christian living are inseparable. Second, Job apparently understood that God’s worthiness does not change based on a situation. God is always worthy of our worship. Job knew that he was to live a lifestyle of worship. Third, Job understood that God is sovereign and most important above any circumstances or possessions. God is ultimately in control, even when it seems as if He is not. He is so much bigger than we can understand or even imagine.

Job had a choice in that moment of tragedy to either worship God or to focus on what surrounded him. He had lost both his family and possessions, yet he chose to worship. May we each day choose to live continual lives of worship; in the good times and bad, “may the name of the Lord be praised.”