Insight for Living

Chuck Swindoll: When things are rocking along comfortably, and enjoyably, and with good health, and with a full family, my, how high is our view of God. But when the bottom drops out, it's easy to lower one's view of God when hardship assaults us.

Bill Meyer: You get up as the sun rises. The coffee's on. The morning looks like every other morning. And then your phone rings, and everything changes. That's how it happened for a man named Job. No morning skywriting, just a normal day until it wasn't.

Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll opens the book of Job to show us what suffering teaches us about ourselves. It begins with two lessons every one of us will need sooner than we think. Chuck titled his message, "What Job Teaches Us About Ourselves."

Chuck Swindoll: Well, we're back in Job. Let's face it, now your Bible ought to automatically just open to Job. I'm going to ask you to do something a little different. I don't think that I've ever asked you to do this. I'm going to have you find a blank page, front or back of your Bible, and I want you to write two things. Form two columns, and today we'll fill in one and next Sunday we'll fill in the other.

At the top of this page or this column write, "What Job teaches us about ourselves." Then just number one through seven. And then we'll save the next one for next time: "What Job teaches us about our God." Won't that be helpful to see what he says to us about ourselves, and then from the principles of Job, what we can learn from him about our God? They go together, sort of a one-two punch. Trust me, you'll need these, if not now, soon. If not soon, later.

I want to read sort of randomly a section of chapters one and two. All of it will bring back the memory of when we walked through this story. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. The next few verses describe what he owned and his children; there were ten of them.

Now, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and interesting, the Hebrew text says "and the Satan." And the Satan also came among them. The Lord said to the Satan, "From where did you come?" Then the Satan answered the Lord and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it."

The Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." Satan answered the Lord, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse you to your face."

The Lord said to the Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord. You remember what happened. Four different messengers. It happened on the day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house that a messenger came.

While he was still speaking, another also came. While he was still speaking, another also came. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking in their oldest brother's house, and a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they died." Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell to the ground and worshipped.

Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. Same question, same answer. The Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity."

Satan answered the Lord and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. However, put forth your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse you to your face." So the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life."

Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. He took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes. His wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die." He said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

Bill Meyer: You're listening to Insight for Living. To dig deeper into Job's story, be sure to purchase a copy of our Searching the Scriptures Bible study workbook by going to insight.org/offer. Chuck titled today's message, "What Job Teaches Us About Ourselves."

Chuck Swindoll: Kids don't mean to be funny; it's just when they say things, they come across as funny. Even when they're answering questions that are fairly serious, it's remarkable how their answers, while true often, are just hilarious. Someone sent me this week some questions that children were asked, and ages seven through ten children answered.

For example, "How do you decide who to marry?" was asked Kirsten, who is age ten. She answers, "No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with."

Derek, age eight, answered, "How can a stranger tell if two people are married?" Derek answers, "You might have to guess based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kid." Which ties in with the question asked Laurie, age eight, "What do you think your mom and dad have in common?" Laurie says, "Both don't want any more kids."

"When is it okay to kiss someone?" Pam, age seven, says, "When they're rich." Kurt, also age seven, answered that one, "The law says you have to be 18, so I wouldn't want to mess with that." Okay, Kurt.

"Is it better to be single or married?" Anita, age nine, said, "It's better for girls to be single, but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them." And all the wives said, amen. Yeah, I knew you'd do that.

One of my favorites, "How would you make a marriage work?" Ricky, age ten, says, "Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck." Another little child in our congregation is age six, and her daddy wrote me this past week to tell me something she said when she has been sitting with them through all of the messages on Job. She leaned over and said to her daddy, "Daddy, when Pastor Chuck started the book of Job, was I four or five?" You were still six, sweetheart, wherever you are.

Now, at the risk of having some tomatoes thrown in my direction, I'm going to tell you we have only two more messages on Job. Don't clap, I got that. You know something's wrong when you read your scriptures and you say, "Now for the last chapter of Job," and people start to applaud when it gets there.

I want us to sort of look at the whole book, since we have been hammering our way through these trees and on occasion each limb and finding our way through this forest of information. I want us to come today to some sort of practical terms with what this book teaches us. In a very, very practical way about the way we live our lives, what we learn about ourselves from Job, and then find out what it is we learn from Job about our God.

Trust me on this one, you're going to need one or more of the principles sooner than you may realize. And while we have fun with it and have enjoyed ourselves on a number of occasions, today we're rolling up our sleeves and looking at life through Job's viewpoint and learning from his example.

So, we'll take today's talk mainly from the early part of Job and then next time we will look at the latter chapter of the book and see what it says about God. But today, about ourselves.

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless, upright, fearing God, turning away from evil. We read he had ten children, seven sons and three daughters. His possessions were great: thousands of sheep and camels, half a thousand of oxen and donkeys. In fact, the wrap-up statement in verse three is that he was the greatest in the east. There was no one better known, perhaps wealthier, than Job.

Job didn't know it, but there was a dialogue that took place in the invisible world above him. As the Lord and the Satan had this encounter, for some reason Satan allowed into the Lord's presence, and the dialogue turns on the person of Job. The Lord calls Satan's attention to Job, says, "Have you noticed him?" and Satan, in standard operating procedure of sarcasm, says, "Of course. Who wouldn't serve you the way you've treated him? He's got penthouse treatment. But you touch what he owns, he'll curse you to your face."

It's the divine wager. So the Lord, in today's terms, bet him that that would not happen. No, he wouldn't do that. And I'll allow you the freedom to move into his world, but don't touch him, don't touch his person. And you recall he did that. And in a brief matter of really, really moments, Satan instigates a removal of all of the possessions, all of his ability to earn a living. Much of his property is destroyed, and he's leveled in bankruptcy. Which brings us to the first of seven lessons we learn from Job about ourselves.

We never know ahead of time the plans God has for us. Job had no way of knowing this. That morning dawned like every other morning. The night had passed like most every other night. There was no early morning skywriting, there was no angelic visit, there was no tap at the window warning him that something would change, or that all hell would break loose, or the bottom would drop out of his life. He got up that morning like every other morning, and he began the day, only to be interrupted by this messenger, and that messenger, and the next one, and the next one.

And before you could sneeze, it seems, the buildings are gone, and there are carcasses on the land, and the servants have been taken or killed or kidnapped. And Job knows nothing ahead of time. You can't anticipate it correctly. You're unable to predict it accurately. It's impossible to explain it fully. No one can explain it. Like a bolt out of the blue, his world explodes. And God didn't warn him ahead of time.

Could happen to you. It could hit me on the way home. The next airplane trip for you or me could be our last. The fact is, we don't know ahead of time what his plan is. He has a plan; he just isn't obligated to warn us about it or to remind us that it could happen.

Hold your place here and with another finger find Jeremiah chapter 29. It's really worth a look. Turn, please. Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 11. The subject is the Jews going into captivity yet future, the subject is the life beyond the captivity yet future, and the Lord, speaking to his prophet who then speaks to the people, tells them, "I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord. Observe it does not read, "I will tell you all about them ahead of time so you can be ready." He simply says, "I know the plans."

His sovereign will is such that it is all put together. Isaiah 55 tells us that his ways are high above our ways and beyond our thoughts. They are different; they are in another world, a different perspective. But the Lord knows his plans that he has for us, and there's good news at the end. They are plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give us a future and a hope.

The ultimate plan our Lord has for us is not a calamitous, fatalistic, heartbreaking, life-ending plan designed to disturb or corrupt our faith. It is a plan that is profound, and it's different than you and I would have ever expected or planned. In response to this first lesson, I have some pretty simple advice: Be ready for anything. And I mean anything.

I heard from a friend in our church just a few moments ago of a friend of his who works at EDS making a great deal of money, enjoying a prosperity that was unusual for him and for his family. Got notice from the Guard that he was being called up. He has to leave his work to go and serve in the Guard, and in serving, he will need to sell his home. They will need to become familiar again with a salary income and a lifestyle that is altogether different from what they've been used to all of these years, especially while growing into the position he had, but no longer has. And it came like a bolt out of the blue.

You don't know that you'll have your children by the end of this month. You don't know that their future is anymore secure than you know your future is secure. What you enjoy today, you may not be enjoying this time next year. This isn't designed to make you afraid; it's designed to help get you ready. I remind you, these are principles to live with and to remember.

Job's response, verse 20, is absolutely remarkable. Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell to the ground and worshipped. He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I will return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Through all this, we read Job did not sin, nor did he blame God.

Lesson number two: A vertical perspective will keep us from horizontal panic. Don't misunderstand, Job doesn't escape into denial. He faces the music, somber and sad that it is. He's overwhelmed; that's why he tore his robe. He's broken, and saddened, and bankrupt; that's why he shaves his head and sits in ashes. He refuses to escape emotionally through denial. He falls to the ground and worships. What a remarkable response.

His vertical perspective is firm, clear, in place. Nothing horizontal will cause this man to panic. I had, I enjoyed, I was blessed. I've lost, they're no longer with me. I'm heartbroken, but the same God who gave is the God who took away. Blessed be his name. I serve and honor and praise and walk with him.

When I was back in this passage several years, several weeks ago, I read for you Francis Andersen's words. Time has a way of erasing comments that are made in days past, and I return to a part of what he wrote in his fine work on Job. Job finds nothing wrong with what has happened to him. At this point, Job's trial enters a new phase, the most trying of all. He never curses God, but all his human relationships are broken. His attitude is the same as before. It is equally right for God to give gifts and to retrieve them. It is equally right for God to send good or adversity.

And then he adds: It is easier to lower your view of God than to raise your faith to such a height. When things are rocking along comfortably, and enjoyably, and with good health, and with a full family, my, how high is our view of God. How thrilled we are with those verses of scripture. How we hang on the words of the sermon, and we sing the songs of Zion. But when the bottom drops out, our song is taken from us, and we begin to wonder, was our view of God here really the right view since we're now here? It's easy to lower one's view of God when hardship assaults us. That vertical perspective will save the day.

Well, it got worse. It just got worse. Job does not sin or blame God, which frustrates Satan and does not surprise our God who already knew Job would be a man of integrity. So there was another day, round two, and Satan comes out swinging. The Lord asks, "Have you noticed my servant Job?" must have been a great moment in that encounter when the Lord could point to Job, and there had been no break in his faith or trust. And Satan has to face the music, but Satan then says, "Ah, you touch him, you touch his life, it'll be another story. Skin for skin!" Chapter 2, verse 4. "All that a man has he will give for his life. Put forth your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh; he'll curse you to your face." He repeats the charge, the warning. So the Lord said, "He's in your power, only spare his life."

Bill Meyer: None of us know what a single day may hold. Job certainly didn't. And when his world came apart, he did something remarkable. He fell to the ground and worshipped. Today, Chuck Swindoll reminds us that a vertical perspective is what keeps us from horizontal panic. When we keep our eyes on God, no earthly loss can level us.

This 22-part series concludes a week from today, so we encourage you to get in touch for these resources while it's still fresh on your mind. The Old Testament book of Job provides a shocking picture of human suffering. Many of the images are pitiful, frankly, and seem so unfair. But that's the way life is, right? Sometimes it feels like nothing more than an endless sequence of unwanted surprises.

And yet even still, Job deliberately chose triumph over tragedy. For this reason and more, we encourage you to get better acquainted with Job by using the practical Bible study resources that Insight for Living offers. We invite you to request the Searching the Scriptures Bible study workbook for this series. It's called Job, A Man of Heroic Endurance. This spiral-bound workbook is just one item in a bundle of resources.

The collection also includes 22 sermons on CD, plus the bundle includes Chuck Swindoll's full-length biography of Job. In his book, more than 300 pages in length, you'll read Chuck's meticulous exposé of Job's life, and along the way, Chuck equips you to deal with adversity of any kind. There are three powerful resources in the bundle: the spiral-bound Bible study workbook, the full collection of sermons from Chuck, and his comprehensive biography of Job, A Man of Heroic Endurance. You can find all the details at insight.org/offer or call us at 800-772-8888. That's 800-772-8888.

What are the key lessons we can learn from Job's remarkable story? I'm Bill Meyer. Chuck Swindoll answers that question tomorrow on Insight for Living.

The preceding message, "What Job Teaches Us About Ourselves," was copyrighted in 2002, 2004, 2009, 2025, and 2026, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2026 by Charles R. Swindoll, Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.