Worship in the Wreckage: When Defeat Finds You

You and I will experience defeat. Most likely, you already have; some of you, like me, have had this experience many times.

What do I mean by “defeat”? I’m referring to a loss, a setback, a failure. Some of us hear the word “defeat” and think about our favorite sports team losing. I hate losing. When our children were young and playing sports, their mom would always say, “Remember, it isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about having fun.” To which I would always add, “But, kids, just remember, it’s a lot more fun when you win!”

What are some examples of defeat? Not getting the job you wanted. Losing a job you liked. Being rejected by a school or program. Divorce. A business failure. I’ve experienced defeat many times, including the closing of a church filled with people I love.

As much as we hate it, defeat is a part of life in this fallen world. One positive of defeat is that it’s a great time for reflection. What went wrong? Could I have done something differently? What can I learn from this? Those are all great questions to ask, so we learn and grow and improve following defeat.

Sometimes defeat is our fault. Other times, someone else does something that hurts us. Then there are times when our defeat has nothing to do with us or anything we’ve done. It just happens.

How do we handle defeat when it comes through nothing we’ve done wrong? How do we respond when there’s no explanation for the suffering? When it’s no one’s fault, it just happens?

There’s a story in the Bible about a man who faced horrible defeat through no fault of his own.

His name is Job.

I remember the first time I discovered the story of Job. I was excitedly looking through the new King James Version Bible my parents gave me when I started 1^st grade, and there it was, a whole book about a “job,” as in “occupation.” I knew my dad had a job, so maybe this was something about what grown-ups do at work. It didn’t take much reading to realize that wasn’t the case. (I still have that Bible, by the way.)

Anyway, back to our story. Here’s the setting: Job is a godly man and the richest man in town. He’s the greatest man in his whole land. Everything is going great for Job and his family.

Then one day, Satan appears before God and claims that Job only serves God because of the blessings God gives him. “Hey God, it’s easy to serve you when all you do is win, win, win, no matter what.”

So, God allows Satan to take everything from Job. In a flash, all he has, including his children, is gone. Imagine the heartbreak. Here’s how Job responds:

Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. (Job 1:20-22)

Amid his tremendous pain, Job falls to the ground and worships God! I don’t know if that’s what I’d do in that situation. If I lose all my possessions, well, maybe… but my children? Would my first thought be to worship God? It’s what Job does. That’s the kind of person he is.

A little later, Satan appears before God again. This time, he claims that Job only worships God because he’s healthy. If he had severe pain and disease, he wouldn’t worship God, he’d curse God. Satan is claiming that we only worship God for what we can get out of him. Ask yourself whether that’s true for you.

God then allowed Satan to give God painful sores all over his body, from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Think all-over, extremely painful shingles, and you have an idea of what Job went through.

Job’s wife does exactly what Satan predicted Job would do. She says, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9). Job responds:

“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 2:10)

Most of the rest of the book involves some of Job’s friends who come to minister to him. They end up trying to convince Job that all this happened because of his sin. All bad things happen because of sin, they argue. If Job would just admit his sin, he might get better. If he’d admit, confess, and turn from his sin, God would heal him.

Later on, God will speak to these friends and tell them that they’re wrong about all pain being caused by sin. Again, defeat might not have anything to do with sin or anything we’ve done (Job 42:7).

Job maintains his innocence, and finally says:

If only I knew how to find him, so that I could go to his throne. I would plead my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would learn how he would answer me; and understand what he would say to me. Would he prosecute me forcefully? No, he would certainly pay attention to me. (Job 23:3-6)

Job is asking for an opportunity to take God to court! He maintains that he hasn’t done anything wrong, certainly nothing that would have brought about this catastrophe, and he wants God to explain himself.

Finally, God responds, and it isn’t what Job or any of his friends expected him to say:

Who is this who obscures my counsel with ignorant words? Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question you, you will inform me. Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:2-7)

God keeps going:

Have you ever in your life commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place, so it may seize the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?… Have you traveled to the sources of the sea or walked in the depths of the oceans? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deep darkness? Have you comprehended the extent of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. (Job 38:12-13; 16-18)

I think by this time, Job is wishing he hadn’t asked to take God to court. The interesting thing is, in four chapters of speaking, God never explains to Job why he has suffered so much. Not once does God answer the “why?” Finally, Job replies to God:

I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?” Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. (Job 42:2-3)

What Job learns is that God never has to explain his decisions and actions. He’s God. Job never understands God’s purpose in his pain. But he knows God has a purpose. He knows God loves him deeply. That’s all Job needs. It should be all we need as well.

When defeat comes out of nowhere, know that God loves you. He has a purpose for your life. At times, his purpose may mean defeat and heartache and pain, but even the pain is part of God’s plan for you.

In the face of defeat and loss that isn’t your fault, will you trust and worship him?