I came naked from my mother’s womb and I shall have nothing when I die. The Lord gave me everything, and they were his to take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21

Job is one of my favorite Bible characters. In my book, he is a superstar! There’ll never be another Joe Montana. There’ll never be another Michael Jordan. And there will never be another Job!

Here is a guy who had everything; wealth, influence, an incredible family! He was at the top of his game. Then he lost it all. His computer crashed. The hard-drive wasn’t backed up. His life savings was in Enron. I’m looking for words to describe a worse-case-scenario. Let’s just say, Job was finished.

Now, it’s one thing to find yourself penniless when you’ve never known wealth. But here’s a guy who was one day on Forbes list of wealthiest people and the next, he’s pushing a shopping cart down the sidewalk, sleeping on a park bench.

So what was his attitude?

Job stopped, took a deep breath, stepped back a pace or two, looked at the big picture, and said, “What’s the big deal? It wasn’t mine to start with. It’s all God’s. He can do with it as he sees fit.”

What an amazing attitude!

Philippians speaks of Jesus much the same way. Read it for yourself. He was in the form of God but did not grasp or demand to keep his rights as God but made himself into a servant and submitted to death on the cross. But then, God elevated Him to a place of highest honor.

Later, we will find that God also greatly rewards Job. But right now, Job can’t see it coming. He can’t read the back of the book to see how the story will play out. Still his faith remains unwavering.

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. (Job 13:15)

I’ll never come close to being a Job. Maybe you will. But his story gives me inspiration. Something to shoot for.

Nope, there’ll never be another Babe Ruth. And there will never be another Job. But we can try!