No one can ever determine with certainty the events that befall him. At this moment someone can live a life of joy and prosperity, but in an instant all that is gone. Struggles and challenges come one after another, replacing happy smiles with tears and mourning that are so sad. That is the dynamics of human life. Just as everyone has the right to live a good and joyful life, at the same time bad luck can also befall everyone. So as believers we are invited to find and determine the right response in facing the various sufferings and sorrows that come to our lives. Job was a very pious follower of God. The devil wanted to test him because he thought that his piety was the result of all the sufficiency and happiness he received. Maybe Job obeyed God because he only wanted His blessings. In the passage we read, one by one disasters befell Job and his family. First, it is reported that the people of Sheba came to attack and seize the oxen that were plowing, along with the donkey that was valuable because of its milk and offspring. The people were nomads who plundered for their living supplies.

Second, divine fire fell from the sky and destroyed the flocks and their herds. Most likely it was a great storm with lightning strikes. The dry grass was burned by the fire and the animals ran in panic. Third, three groups of armed Chaldeans came. They seized 3,000 camels. Camels were valuable animals because they could be used for transportation in the desert. Fourth, a storm that blew from the desert in circles destroyed the house when Job's children were gathered in the house of the eldest son. The house they lived in collapsed and killed them all. Two natural disasters and two robber attacks destroyed Job's wealth and descendants. Nothing was left. All of these events were witnessed by an eyewitness and always ended with the affirmation, "I alone escaped, so that I can tell you about it."

If we were in Job's position, what would our response be? Perhaps we would be very shocked and speechless. That is what Job did at first. He was silent and tore his robe and shaved his head. A sign of sorrow and a broken heart. After that he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return thither." A statement that implies Job's surrender as well as the awareness that in the end everything in humans is His gift that will not even be taken to death. Job acknowledged the mortality of humans and that only in God can humans find strength and hope. Therefore, in the face of such a great calamity, Job did not question, did not accuse, and did not rebel. He remained pious and honest, whole and sincere. May we also be able to have the same attitude when challenges and struggles come to our lives. Remain pious and submit to Him no matter what happens in life. The process may be difficult, but in the end, like Job, we too can exclaim that "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."