Everyone hopes to live well, with life being smooth and without suffering. What determines whether a person lives well or not? How can one live well? Through Job's answers, we can understand his internal logic system. Once we understand it, we will know how to live well.

Reflecting on Questions

Based on Job's responses, is his attitude correct?

Does Job truly know God at this point? What does he think God is like?

Did you, like Job, first know God and then experience suffering? How do you react when you experience suffering?

If you read this and think Job's approach is correct, you are mistaken. Job is not a role model for us to follow. If your reaction is like Job's, it is also not normal. Does Job truly know God at this time? If you act like Job, it means you do not know God; you merely know that God exists. Today, we must see God with our own eyes. After experiencing suffering, we can know God through the suffering. However, if we know God first and then experience what Job experienced, then your reaction should not be like Job's. Your reaction should be like Paul's.

Today, when we read the Bible, we must understand that it is not only Job's three friends who were wrong; Job was also wrong. If Job was right, God would not have needed to ask him thirty-six questions later. We are not seeking comfort from others, but we are seeking faith in God within ourselves. The reaction of having faith in God within should not be like Job's reaction. Let us look at chapters 9 and 10. We need to understand his thought logic through what Job said.

Job Knows That God is Almighty

Job knows that God is almighty, and so do his three friends. However, his friends and he both labeled God as willful, that God is very willful, doing whatever He wants. Is that really the case? If you think so, then your understanding of God is incorrect. God does indeed want to do whatever He wants, and He does indeed have that ability, and we indeed cannot participate in what God does. Man can do nothing. This erroneous idea is very rampant in the broad Christian environment.

For example, if someone says, I want to do what Jesus did, some will say, Can you do what Jesus did? Jesus is Jesus, and you are you! Do you understand the meaning of his answer? His meaning is: God is God, and we are us. If that is really the case, God did not need to give us Jesus Christ and let Him die on the cross for us. If Jesus Christ died on the cross, we must completely overturn a misunderstanding about God. God is not a willful God!

In chapter 9, verses 1-12, we can summarize Job's view of God. He believes that God is a willful God, and he feels that the suffering he is experiencing today is proof of that. But is God really tormenting Job? No! Job's entire logical system is in chaos. If I did not speak on this today, you might still think that Job is right and his friends are wrong; that is the logic system of discerning good and evil.

When we read the Bible, we should read to find faith, not to find out who is right and who is wrong. If one stubbornly follows the path of who is right and who is wrong, that person will surely live in bitterness, and he will always think that he is right. If a person always thinks that he is right, then that is terrible. It is like a fool who makes a foolish decision, and he will think that decision is very clever.

Job Does Not Believe That God is a God Who Listens to Prayers

He believes that God is almighty, feels that God is very willful, and thinks that man can do nothing. This is what he says:

God does not withdraw his anger; beneath him bow the helpers of Rahab. How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him? Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser. If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice. (Job 9:13-16)

But what is the reality? The reality is that God is a God who listens to prayers. This is a foundation. Once this foundation is gone, we will have no way to walk this Christian path. God must be a God who listens to prayers. If our prayers are not answered, we should examine ourselves carefully.

Today, there are many erroneous logical systems. The most common thing I see is some Christians who have cancer, who are very struggling. In their minds, there is a recognition like Job's. Does God really not listen to prayers? If you think that God does not listen to prayers, then God will really not listen to your prayers, because you receive according to what you believe. God is a God who listens to prayers. If we do not have this recognition, we will have no way to come before God.

For example, I have never seen anyone in the Bible pray, Lord, I beg you, please heal me. What I see is the example that Jesus set for us. Jesus said, Devil, get out! and they were released. If God did not listen to prayers, what would be the point of Jesus coming into the world and dying on the cross? Jesus came into the world to teach us, Believe that you have received it, and you will receive it. God let His own Son die on the cross for us so that we would know that God is a God who listens to prayers. Can what Jesus endured on the cross be the same as what Job endured? What Jesus endured was much more painful than Job's suffering.

God not only listens to people's cries but also likes to discuss with people what He is going to do. Do you believe that? Why? Let us look at the Bible:

The Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him. (Genesis 18:17-19)

God wants to discuss with Abraham about destroying these two cities, and then Abraham pleads with God. Did God listen to Abraham's plea? Yes! As long as there are ten righteous people in that city, God will not destroy it. And Abraham is a person who understands God's heart very well. Today, let us not be Job; let us be Abraham. If you are Abraham, God will definitely consult with you if He has something to do and seek your opinion, so that you and your children may follow God's way. This is a very important concept. We must read the Book of Job very carefully and not think that Job speaks very well and correctly. Because later, even Job himself denied everything he had said before.

Job Thinks That Life is Meaningless

Job feels that God is almighty, and I am nothing; I can only endure suffering like this and then die, without any meaning. But Abraham can find meaning in life. So Job says, I am blameless; I reckon not myself; I loathe my life (Job 9:21). Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me (Job 10:18).

If life is completely meaningless, then you do not know God. Because the meaning of life is to manifest God's glory. God created us with meaning, not something meaningless. Paul suffered more than Job in the world. If you were to argue about right and wrong, Paul would be wronged to death, but he manifested God's glory.

We must know that you and I are precious in God's eyes and not meaningless. If you choose to say, I believe that I am precious in God's eyes, and I must live out God's glory, then you will live according to that faith. God has opened such a path, a path full of glory.

Job Thinks That God Destroys Both Good and Evil

What a disgrace this is to God. When Adam and Eve sinned, God promised salvation. From the time of Noah to the time of Job, this salvation has been passed on, and God has always had a plan of redemption. Therefore, what we must inherit today is the thought of Jesus Christ's redemption, not Job's thought.

Job said, It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked’ (Job 9:22). How much these words hurt God's heart! We put ourselves in God's position to think. God is letting Job be glorified, but when Job experiences these things, he sums up such wrong thoughts. In fact, such thoughts had long been in Job's heart. It was only when he experienced these sufferings that such thoughts began to ferment and give rise to such ideas. Did his friends force him to say this? No, he said it himself.

So everyone should begin to firmly believe that God is definitely not indifferent to good and evil. God knows that people are living in sin, but God will save people from sin no matter what. This is our Gospel. I am indeed a sinner, but God, because of my faith, will save me from sin. One cannot use experience to replace truth. If you use your experience to replace truth, that is very dangerous. You cannot label God because of your own experiences. The Bible tells us again and again that we cannot use experience to replace truth.

It is not that if a person pursues miracles, there will be miracles; if one pursues healing and deliverance, one will receive healing and deliverance. The prerequisite is, you must have a correct understanding of God, and through your faith, you can manifest God's glory. Therefore, today we must constantly pursue and correctly know God. Only in this way can we see God's glory. God wants to save us from sin. We are all sinners, so do not accuse others of being sinners; just knowing that you are a sinner is enough.

People must have an overall perspective. Do not, like Job, judge the overall outcome of life based on a single experience. If you only look at a small piece of experience, then you can accomplish nothing. Many of us do project management, and there will be difficulties in managing any stage of the project. Only by believing that overcoming these difficulties will lead to a good result can you move forward. If you only dwell on one difficulty and cannot move forward, then that is a problem. Therefore, one must not use a short period of time to determine the outcome. We often think that the process is important, but that is not the case. The result is more important than the process, and even the Bible says so.

Job Prays, Yet Doubts He Will Receive

Jesus said: Believe that you have received, and you will receive. We must not negate God's promises because of a few unpleasant experiences. Yet Job said, If I called and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice. (Job 9:16)

Job's Thoughts Differ from His Words

This is a state of being controlled, where thoughts and actions diverge, like Peter who thought, Lord, I love you, but said, Lord, I do not know you. Remember, nothing can be accomplished through human flesh; only through the Spirit of God can things be achieved.

Job had reached a point where his spirit was under control, unable to control his mouth. Brothers and sisters, if we begin to experience a state of confusion, we must recognize that we are in spiritual bondage. Resisting the devil is not done with knowledge, but with faith. The Bible teaches us to resist the devil with a firm faith, and he will flee from you. Firm faith means believing even in death that God will hear our prayer and that these problems will recede.

Some suffering is unnecessary. We should turn back and say, God, suffering is not your will; prosperity is. Shouldn't we persist until we achieve prosperity? We may indeed suffer some pain because of sin, but it does not mean that all our suffering is due to sin. Therefore, we must constantly examine ourselves, and by rejecting sin, we avoid unnecessary suffering. Even in suffering, we must continue to believe that God will save us, that God is a good God.

Conclusion: The Key is Faith, Not the Knowledge of Good and Evil

It is not about how we behave before God, but about faith. The word we believe is the word of justification by faith. Thank God for giving us such a word, so we can come before God. If we had to wait until our behavior improved before coming to God, we would have turned to ashes long before reaching Him. A person who cannot sin is probably dead, so what is the point?

But our God is the God of the living, who, while we are alive, uses the positive faith within us to resist the problems we encounter in life. When we have such faith, we will surely see God's glory.

I encourage everyone to learn a lesson: when you listen to someone speak, understand the logic system within them. When you understand someone's logic system, you will know why that person reacts in that way. Understanding the logic system is understanding the spiritual strongholds.

In this world, nothing yields a richer return than changing a person's internal logic system. If a person's logic system is changed, then the whole person will be changed. If you only see the outward perfection of a person, you are only using your carnal eyes. But if you see a perfect logic system in a person, that is a deep soul-level understanding. Therefore, our understanding of a person should not be based on the external but on the internal. If you start looking at a person's logic system, things will become very interesting.

When you want to change a person's logic system, first you need to understand their logic system. Then you need to tell them that their logic system will make them live in pain, and only then will they begin to accept a new logic system. But if they do not feel any pain in their old logic system, but instead feel happy, then it will be difficult to change them.

There is an interesting story online: Li Ka-shing's second secretary, who worked with him for more than twenty years, resigned. After resigning, Li Ka-shing wrote her a check for two million dollars. When Li Ka-shing gave the check to the secretary, she said, I don't need it, I already have ten to twenty million. Li Ka-shing was surprised, his secretary only had a salary of five to six thousand a month, how could she have ten to twenty million? The secretary told him, I followed you to meetings, you said this piece of land was valuable, so I invested a little; you said that thing was valuable, so I invested a little. I paid attention to learning everything you said. If you follow someone who is good at business, you will inherit their logic of making money, and after twenty years, even with a monthly salary of only five to six thousand, you will have twenty million in savings.

Similarly, if you follow Jesus, you will inherit Jesus' logic system. Following Li Ka-shing only inherits the logic system of making money, but following Jesus inherits the logic system of obtaining life. Today, we must know how rich the return is when we change our internal logic system.

This Job is still trapped in the logic system of reasoning. Today, we must start to think, if Jesus encountered this situation, what would he do? I often ask myself this question. We do what Jesus would do. If we cannot do it sometimes, it doesn't matter, just kneel down and pray properly, and God will give you the strength to do it, and then the effectiveness of the service will increase. I have found that reasoning is not a good method. Zophar and Job were just arguing about some principles, but these principles seemed to have nothing to do with them. Later, I developed a habit, we put aside things that don't matter.

The generation we live in today is one with a lot of nonsense but no solutions. When you serve a person, you will find that they talk a lot of nonsense. The problem is that when we serve this person, they insist on their own logic system, and when your logic system does not match theirs, they will refuse to accept it, and that is the most foolish person in the world.

People should learn to associate with smart people, not with foolish people. Paul tells us to be careful when serving foolish people. Because if you are not careful, you will fall in, because the logic of foolish people is very strict. So when serving such people, learn to tell them that what they are saying is useless, and then teach them what Jesus Christ taught.

Tear down the natural reactions in people's flesh, because these natural reactions follow reason. But what Jesus Christ passed down is not to walk by reason, but to walk by faith. If someone strikes you on the left cheek, turn the other also. If someone takes your coat, let him have your cloak as well. Some people will say, if you give your cloak to others, won't you be naked? No, God will personally become your glory and cover your body. We like to reason, but reasoning cannot solve problems.

Job himself would also say, But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God. As for you, you whitewash with lies; you are all worthless physicians. (Job 13:3-4). In fact, what he said was also useless. So Jesus tells us to remove the plank from our own eye, so that we may see clearly to remove the speck from our brother’s eye. We easily see the speck in other people's eyes, but we don't see the plank in our own eyes.

I think today you will have a new understanding of Job. Before, you may have thought he was good, but now you will think he doesn't seem so good. When we get to the New Testament, we will read Paul saying,

Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my own body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)

That is, do not do useless work. Every thing you do, every word you say, must be useful. Must know what you are doing. To discipline your body and make it your slave. Never live in a state of confusion with a lot of big principles. To be clear that you want to get that crown of eternal life, what we want to get is the crown of glory that will not perish. To run hard on this road, never be lazy, you will definitely get the crown of honor and glory. Never be like those who came out of Egypt and crossed the wilderness, drank the same spiritual water, and ate the same spiritual food, but most of them were not pleasing to God, so they died in the wilderness. These things should be a reference for you and me.

It is useless to reason with others, hold on to your faith, and deal with the evil desires within you. You were not resistant before, but now you are becoming more and more resistant. Practice more, and you will get better and better. We really need to discipline our bodies and make them our slaves, so that we can obtain the benefits of this gospel.