Reorder Priorities

As we fully pursue the emotions in times of suffering, our minds engage in a way that causes us to see life from a new perspective.  Reflecting on life from a different perspective, leads us to the next marker of reordering one’s priorities.  Suffering, pain, reveals the values and important qualities reminding us of what truly is significant in life.

The Book of Job provides biblical support for the idea of reflecting on and reordering one's priorities through Job’s journey of suffering and subsequent restoration. Job’s experience highlights how profound trials can lead to deep self-reflection and a re-evaluation of one's values and priorities. Here are some key points from Job that illustrate this process:

1. Job’s Initial Understanding and Priorities

Job is described as a man who was “blameless” and “upright,” who “feared God” and “shunned evil.” This initial description sets Job up as a person with strong moral and spiritual priorities.

Job 1:1 “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.”

2. Job’s Suffering and Re-Evaluation

Job’s deep suffering leads him to curse the day of his birth, indicating a profound shift in his emotional state and perspective. This emotional upheaval prompts him to reflect on his life and his values.

Job 3:1-3 “After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. He said: ‘May the day of my birth perish, and the night that said, “A boy is conceived!”’”

3. Job’s Dialogue and Reflection

Job reflects on his past prosperity and how he was respected and blessed by God. This reflection on his former state of well-being prompts him to reassess what he values and how he understands his relationship with God.

Job 29:2-5 “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!”

Job makes a final declaration of his integrity and his willingness to accept the consequences of his actions. His reflections lead him to reaffirm his commitment to his values and his understanding of justice.

Job 31:35 “Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing.”

4. God’s Response and Broadened Perspective