The gold that Job found was something beyond this life.

‘When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.’ (Job 23:10)

Job is described as, ‘the greatest man among all the peoples of the East’ (Job 1:3). He was materially very wealthy. His family was large, with a wife and 7 sons and 3 daughters. He was spiritually great, for God said of him, ‘“There is no one on earth like him… a man who fears God and shuns evil”’ (Job 1:8).

Having introduced him this way, the scene of the book of Job shifts from earth to heaven where Satan is given permission to take away every earthy possession of Job – his wealth, his business, his children and eventually his health. Abandoned and alone, Job sinks into a deep depression, wishing he had never been born.

Amidst the many chapters of distress and depression, a key to Job lies in these words: ‘If I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold’ (Job 23:8-10). In other words, Job says this: I don’t know where God is, but He knows where I am. Whilst I feel I am being torn apart, He is turning me into gold. God’s agenda is always constructive, wholesome and good, even when Satan attacks. Believe that today, and trust Him.

Are there ways you can see God at work in your life through suffering?

Bible in one year: Psalm 58-59 | Numbers 20