“Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?”
JOB 2:10

Accepting Good and Bad Job 2:9-10

The sight of Job’s body covered with terrible boils was the last straw for his wife. She probably threw her hands up as she told Job to “curse God and die” (2:9). But Job’s response confirmed his faith in the sovereignty of God: “Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?”

While some believe that godliness leads to a life free of suffering, Job understood that life was not to be experienced only on his own terms. God’s purpose could be great, even when Job’s life no longer seemed worth living. He held tightly to God’s grace—unmerited or undeserved favor. And “in all this, Job said nothing wrong” (2:10). Perhaps in his silence Job recalled times when God’s grace had brought him and his family many days of joy, gladness, pleasure, and delight. So when God chose to send difficult days, should Job abandon such joy and curse his Lord?

The book of Job challenges us to see God’s favor in the difficult, crushing, and seemingly evil situations we must face. Can we venture to believe that the hardships God allows are also part of his grace? The apostle Paul said, “Three different times I begged the Lord to take [the thorn in my flesh] away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness’” (2 Cor 12:8-9).

We must not abandon God and his grace when times of pressure come. Satan wants us to complain and protest, to get upset and angry and resentful, and to walk away from our faith. That is Satan’s main attack on our lives, as he proposes in Job 1:11: “But reach out and take away everything [Job] has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” Satan was wrong about Job. And he is wrong about the Christian who sees grace in suffering and disability.