But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2: 10)

Even though we have learned to anticipate it, none of us enjoys adversity. None of us seeks it for the fun of it or pursues it for the pleasure of it. Not only does real adversity have the potential to be damaging, it has the power to be deadly. Yet, what I like about this passage is that it shows us an unusual way to approach our inevitable adversity.

Here, after he has lost virtually everything including his cattle, his children and his health, Job’s wife basically says to him: “Why don’t you just curse God and die. What kind of God would allow all of these terrible calamities to befall a perfect and upright man such as you?”

To this Job in effect responds: “You didn’t tell me to curse God when you lived in the luxury He sent. You didn’t suggest that I curse God when you ate the fat of the cattle He provided and now you ask me to curse God and die? Can we accept the good from God without also accepting adversity? “

Job is right! Contrary to the popular expression, the fact is, it’s not all good! Some of it is quite bad. Still, as we enjoy the blessings of God, we should not be overwhelmed by the adversities of life. Just remember that the presence of adversity does not mean the absence of God.