The Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshipped.
Job 1:20
Job is probably one of the most familiar stories of grief and sorrow in the Bible. In the story of Job we get a peak behind the scenes at the kingdom of God and an interplay between the Lord and the devil. God allowed the enemy to put Job to the test. And Job suffered. He lost all that he had--including his ten children--in a single day. Soon after he faced a horrible disease that left him with painful boils all over his body. Moreover, in the midst of his grief and sorrow, his friends came and told him that he was suffering because of sin in his life.
Job had a depth of character that enabled him to face this great storm of grief and sorrow. In the midst of his agonizing, he was able to endure the suffering without hurting God and others. He is an excellent study on how we can take the right steps to face grief in sorrow in our lives.
First, Job stayed to connected to God. Job 1:1 tells us "and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil." Job made choices in his life to put away the things of the world. In others words, Job denied himself and followed God. The Bible also tells us that Job prayed and worshipped regularly (Job 1:5) Staying connected to God strengthened his character and built his foundation on the rock of God's words--then when he faced inexpressible grief and sorrow, he was able to trust and worship.
Second, Job expressed his grief and sorrow. In Job chapter three Job poured out his heart to his three friends who came to comfort him. His friends had sat with him in silence for seven days because they had saw his "grief was very great" (Job 2:13). Job took the opportunity to share the sorrow of his heart. God has interconnected our hearts with the hearts of others around us. We are told to "comfort one another" and "bear one another's burdens." A wise saying states "A burden shared is half the burden." When we go through great trials in our lives, it is important that we connect to others. Their love, care, and compassion can be a soothing comfort and give us strength and hope.
Finally, Job stayed humble. Like many of us who have faced overwhelming grief and sorrow, Job struggled with "Why". Yet Job stayed humble and "didn't charge God with wrong". Even when his own wife said, "Curse God and die", he told her that God was the giver of everything and that he would accept what God had for him. His humility allowed him to trust in what he could not understand. His humility strengthened his faith, and his faith was the victory that allowed him to endure his great grief and sorrow.
We are all going to face grief and sorrow in our lives. Most of the time, it comes upon us in unexpected and shocking ways. The path to being an overcomer is the path of humility and connecting to God and to others. We need to build our lives on the solid foundation of God's words so that when we face these trials, we are able to remain steadfast and be immovable in our faith and trust in Him.
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