Job, the man who lost everything, whose suffering was so great his friends almost did not recognise him. Job, the man whose suffering was compounded by the lack of compassion and judgemental accusations of his friends, was to pray for those friends knowing their forgiveness, their redemption was in his hands. He was to seek forgiveness on their behalf.
When we think that justice, be it the reward for good or punishment for evil is immediate then we leave no room in our lives for the grace of God, the possibility that our sin could be dealt with another way, or that our reward could be greater than we ever deserve.
Job, because he was only seeing life from an earthly perspective, believed God had hedged him in, imprisoned him in his suffering. Jesus declared the very opposite: Freedom, recovery of sight, the oppressed freed; instead of living as though God had withdrawn his favour, Jesus promises that we will live in the Lord’s favour.
Job maintained his faith because of a lifetime of exercising that faith. Job was a man of prayer, a man of devotion, a man who practiced righteousness and when he failed in righteousness, he practiced repentance. This life of spiritual discipline enabled him to know that he was in a relationship with God where he was loved and valued.