“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands” Proverbs 14:1 (NKJV). Everyone builds a house, builds a legacy. “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” 1 Cor. 3:11 (NKJV). We build a house by the choices we make and the attitudes that we chose to have. There are many things that happen that we have no control over, but we can control weather or not we will choose to trust God. He must be the foundation when life is calm and when life is tough. “Therefore, whoever, hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” Matthew 7:24-26 (NKJV).
This woman in the Bible doesn’t even have a name, but the lessons we can learn from her are great. I’m thinking about Mrs. Job. Very little is said about her in the Bible and even less is spoken by her. The only dialogue that is given is Mrs. Job asking her hubby to curse God and die (Job 2:9-10). “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!” You speak as a foolish woman speaks”, he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity? Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said” Job 2:9-10 (HCSB). I cannot begin to imagine what it must have been like to lose all ten of her children. I have experienced loss but not to that extreme. Was Mrs. Job having a bad moment and that was all that was captured of her? I know this was a very difficult season. But I wonder if she didn’t allow God to be her solid rock before tragedy struck and therefore was sinking when her hopes were falling beneath her. Mrs. Job wasn’t for lack before tragedy struck. Before tragedy struck she was living a wealthy lifestyle. “He (Job) had seven sons and three daughters. His estate included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east” Job:1-2-3 (HCSB). So, this man was not exactly struggling financially. But before the Bible even mentions Job’s wealth it first mentions Job’s attitude towards God. “He was a man of perfect integrity who feared God and turned away from evil” Job 1:1b (HCSB). Regularly, Job would offer sacrifices on the behalf of his children in case they sinned inside their hearts and forgot to ask God’s forgiveness (Job 1:5). Back in the day one was perceived as blessed by how many children they had. God had obviously blessed Job and his family. But what I find interesting is that nothing is said about Mrs. Job’s walk with God. Did she start each morning thanking God for blessings? Did she join hands with her hubby and pray before drinking their first cup of expresso? Or perhaps did Mrs. Job covet her husband’s walk with God? Did his faith confuse her and frustrate her? Did she wish she was first place in her husband’s life rather than his God?
I think she might have been trusting her riches, her godly husband, and her enormous wealth to be her enough. When life was good she didn’t build her house on the rock. So, when the floods came (And sister they are coming) Mrs. Job fell because she wasn’t founded on the rock. I wonder if her grief made her isolate herself from her husband. Rather than becoming more of his help-meet she fell deeper into the shadows as she suffered through the loss. Later in the book Job mentions his wife again. “My breath is offensive to my wife, and my own family finds me repulsive” Job 19:16 (HCSB). While It’s possible that she repented and went on to live for the Lord, but it is not recorded. After the terrible suffering and devastation, God brings restoration. Throughout his suffering Job questions God, but Job is still faithful. God gives Job back his wealth because God saw that Job was faithful. Job’s house was founded on the rock of ages even during suffering. God tested not only Job but also Job’s wife and in the end God blessed both Job and his wife. Our attitudes and how we choose to build our legacy will affect our family regardless of we want it to or not. Job and his wife go on to have ten more children. Mrs. Job must have been restored a little to have birthed ten more beautiful children (Job 42:10-16). But there is no account of her at the end.
Dear friend, I don’t know what terrible storms you are experiencing or maybe what storm God is preparing you to enter. But regardless, let Jesus Christ the Rock of Ages be your solid Rock. It is easy when we face great trials to question God but at the same time we must honor Him as Lord. He sees what I cannot see and knows what I cannot know. “For now, we see in a mirror dimly but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as also I am known” 1 Cor. 13:12 (NKJV).
“All other ground is sinking sand”. Even when the trial is great God is greater and He will not leave Your side.
Thorns amidst the Roses 