Dear Job’s wife,
I know they don’t talk a lot about you,
But it is horrid what you went through,
The loss, the pain, the sickness, the shame,
And still in the book, they never mentioned your name.
You were by Job’s side through all the trials,
You saw your children die and heard Job’s denials
when you blamed God for vanishing all the smiles,
And in your head, you stacked all those struggles in piles.
How can you see a loved one in so much pain,
You awaken to hear your husband moan, painfully insane,
The sickening scrape of pottery over raw flesh,
Boils oozing pus and wounds that are open and fresh.
Your heart was numb with so much grief,
And it turned bitter with unbelief,
Little did you know that God is the only relief,
And that you were holding on to the hurtful reef,
Of shame and struggle and scoffs of the world,
You sank in pity and the pages of hope you curled.
I saw how you endured but you gave up too soon,
Job said you forgot how God blessed, and he called you a fool,
You heard it all like a bizarre tune,
But, thank you for teaching me to endure,
To suffer long and know that God is the cure,
Now that I know, I won’t make the mistake of giving up on God,
Instead patiently wait for His time for me to be restored.
Love,
The Impatient Woman
I wish the Bible mentioned her name. The feminist in me does not like that she is known by her husband’s name. Nonetheless, for clarity sake let us just call her Mrs. Job. When Job was dealing with his undeserved suffering, she was there. The Bible keeps telling ‘Job’ lost his children, ‘Job’ lost his possessions but we are forgetting the fact that his nameless wife faced the loss too. It is very painful for a mother to lose her children but no one directs their focus on that bit. Through all this, she kept her mouth shut but when she saw her husband in pain, she couldn’t hold it any longer. “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). The aforementioned statement is saturated with bitterness and I am not surprised she said that. Mrs. Job knew that her husband did no evil and still he was the test animal for proving that his faith in God is not going to waiver.
Pause. Think. Keep reading
Now, does it seem a little unfair? maybe not. Her anger is legit but her vindictive attitude is wrong. She knew that God gave her family all the luxury that they enjoyed; God gave her children. But a sudden bout of anger made her forget all His goodness. Job kept on enduring; he trusted God and knew that the momentary struggle will lead to a bigger blessing. If only Mrs. Job could see that and endure till the end. Then probably her name would have been mentioned in the Bible. Maybe, that was a strong statement but again it is a perspective.
I learned an important lesson from her life. ‘Do not let bitterness take over you’. It can make you blind to former blessings. It can also make you say a lot of things that you don’t want to.
Endurance is the key. Know that God is painting a bigger picture and the momentary struggle is nothing compared to the prize. “Though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning”
So, let Jesus take the wheel and you sleep peacefully through this night. Know that there is joy in the morning.
P.S: You may be known by your husband’s or father’s name but you are very important to God. Like Lauren Daigle sang, ‘Look up child’