Will we keep our integrity?

“Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity.” Job 2:3

We are currently in the book of Job in our daily Bible reading. We’ve seen the horrific tragedy that came upon this upright man. While we know the rest of the story and what would happen to Job, this righteous man had no idea what was happening and why. And yet God was pleased with Job! Despite the immense loss of life and possessions in chapter one, Job still held fast to his integrity.

We read about other individuals who maintained their integrity in the scriptures. In Genesis 20:6 it says concerning Abimelech, “Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.’” King Abimelech was going to take Sarah (Abraham’s wife). His intentions were pure (or with a clear conscience or innocent) as he thought Sarah was Abraham’s brother. It’s in this way he kept the integrity of his heart.

Solomon spoke about integrity in Proverbs 11:3. He said, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.” As we consider Job, we see a man who was resolute in his faith in God. He did not curse God when his suffering began. He held fast to his integrity.

Structural Integrity is an engineering field that “helps ensure that either a structure or structural component is fit for purpose under normal operational conditions and is safe even should conditions exceed that of the original design. This includes supporting its own weight, aiming to prevent deformation, breaking and catastrophic failure throughout its predicted lifetime. Job’s faith was strong under normal conditions and under intense suffering. His integrity remained under the intense suffering from the devil. He proved the devil wrong and did not curse God when tragedy hit. God, his wife, and the devil saw him maintain his integrity, Job 2:10. When tragedy or uncertain days come our way, let us follow in the footsteps of Job so God will be able to say the same thing that He said about Job.