Jesus describes the only way to “bear fruit.” It is to “remain” in Him. To remain is “to abide, to not depart, or continue to stay present.” It is a simple formula, but that does not make it easy. Job is an Old Testament example of abiding in the Lord.

Job’s life brings uncomfortable feelings and uneasiness that many of us avoid. The suffering God allowed and the hard things that Job endured can be daunting to wrap your head around. To top it all off, God describes Job as “blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8).

We should not compare ourselves to others, but we do it anyway. You hear, “Be like Paul…be like Peter…be like Mary or Ruth or David, or even better: Be like Jesus...” but we don’t hear, “be like Job.” Or at least, I never have. I wonder if we don’t want to suffer like Job or think he is too perfect.

Job was blameless and upright, but he was not sinless. Only Jesus was sinless.

Job lost so much and grieved. He was left not understanding why. His friends sat with him for seven days (Job 2:13). After Job spoke, his friends began to give unsolicited advice. Toward the end, Job did lash out at God. He wrestled with his emotions and thoughts. That was part of his grief. God did not banish him for this, but he did come back with truth in the form of questions (Job 40-41). In that way, Job was humbled and repented (Job 42:1-6).

Job remained.

We all have had moments, or seasons, when wave after wave crashes on us. We may have lost loved ones. We may have a diagnosis with a bleak future. Maybe our child has disabilities, and grief still comes around unexpectedly. Grief takes on the form of many emotions - none of them wrong.* Wrestling with God is not wrong because wrestling means you are still in His presence – you haven’t departed. You are present. And in that presence of wrestling, God prunes. And pruning is necessary for bearing good fruit. And as the end of John 15:5 says, “Apart from Me (Jesus), you can do nothing.”

Job lamented. He cursed the day he was born. He did not understand all that was going on in his life, but he “remained;” he did not depart from the Lord. May it be so in our wrestling, our lamenting.

*Emotions are never wrong, but the actions provoked by them could be.