The first chapter of the book of Job tells us about Job’s awful day. He lost his animals, children, and many of his servants. The next day wasn’t any better. Satan attacked again, striking “Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). Ouch! Job was in bad shape—from head to toe. Also, his wife, who should have been his helper, was no help. “Curse God and die” (2:9),” she suggested. Double ouch! Job didn’t listen. He didn’t shake his fist at God, but bowed before him. “If the treasure comes from God,” he said to her, “the trials must come from God too.” What great faith! Job passed another test.

A final test came when Job’s friends came to visit him. They came to comfort him, but they ended up siding with Satan, not God. They became his accusers! They accused him of sins he didn’t commit. They thought the bad things that happened were because he did bad things. They were wrong. Bad things sometimes happen to good people.

What was Job to do? His wife and friends didn’t help. And when he cried out to God, God was silent. Then, after many days, God finally spoke. Let’s listen to what God had to say.