Based on a series of sermons preached in PCC Prayer Meetings in 2023-2024
But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold
Job 23:10
We are familiar with Job’s story. He suffered immensely. He lost his wealth, his children and his health. But he refused to curse God as Satan was sure he would do. So he became a type of Christ even as he suffered despite his righteousness, was accused of sins he did not commit, and was eventually exalted after his humiliation.
But Job’s suffering was real. He was a historical figure. As James reminds us, his patience in suffering is worthy of our emulation (Jas 5:11). So, many believers down the ages have found comfort and encouragement through the testimony of Job when they are called to suffer.
Several verses in Job are particularly encouraging. But we want to meditate on a verse many of us are familiar with. Some of us may even know how to sing it: “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
Let us study this beautiful declaration, phrase by phrase.
1. He Knows the Way That I Take
What does Job mean? Well, the context of his words clarifies it. He says:
8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: 9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him… 10 But he knoweth the way that I take…
Job 23:8-10
That is a poetic way of saying, “I do not see God, but He sees me.” Although I do not always understand His ways, He always understands mine. “He knoweth the way that I take…”
God is omniscient. He knows all things—including everything about me: how I think, what I see, what I hear, what I say and what I do.
But is He only a bystander, watching the world go by? No, Job is fully convinced that God is sovereignly in control of his life. He says in verses 13 and 14:
He is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me
Job 23:13-14
The LORD is not only aware of where Job is and what he is doing, He knows Job’s way because He ordained everything about him. Solomon says, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Prov 16:19).
But how does the LORD direct the steps of man? Does He do so in a neutral and disinterested way? No, for the Scriptures says elsewhere:
For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish
Ps 1:6
Just as God directs the steps of the ungodly towards destruction, He directs the steps of the righteous to blessedness.
As we shall see in the rest of his declaration, Job is confident that the LORD knows his ways and directs his steps for good.
You, too, can have the same confidence. If you love the Lord and seek His kingdom first, you can be assured that He knows your ways and will direct your steps for good. You can have this assurance when the sun shines brightly, and the breeze blows gently. You can also have the same confidence when the storm is brewing and the sun is hidden behind dark clouds.
This is precisely what Job says in the second part of his statement.
2. When He Has Tried Me
But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me…
When Job says that God knows the way he takes, he is saying that God is in sovereign control over his life. But it is one thing to believe that God is directing your steps when things are going well in your life. It is quite another thing to be sure of the same when things are nasty.
Job believed. He knows that nothing is outside God’s control. Even when things are really, really bad, God is in control.
Satan may indeed be involved, like in the case of Job. Indeed, we know from the Lord’s word to Peter that Satan sometimes asks for permission to sieve God’s children like wheat. So there are times when a child of God could go through very severe suffering where Satan has a hand in it.
However, we must remember that God does not lose control. “When he hath tried me,” says Job. This “he” is not Satan, but the LORD himself. Whatever the circumstance, whoever may be involved, the ‘he’ is always the LORD. It may involve a loved one. It may involve a superior at work, a brother in Christ, a stranger, a bacteria or virus, a neurochemical, or even Satan himself. Whoever it may be, the “he” who tries us is always the LORD Himself. The LORD is in control.
Remember: Whatever suffering you may have to endure, you must know and believe that it is the sovereign LORD who is trying you. It is not chance. It is not an enemy. It is the LORD, the lover of your soul.
Sufferings are means by which God would try you. This is why James says: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations [i.e. trial]” (James 1:2).
But why does the LORD try or chasten you?
Job gives us the answer in the third part of his statement of faith.
3. I Shall Come Forth as Gold
But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Gold, when it is mined, must be refined before it can be useful. How is gold refined? By subjecting the nuggets to intense heat in a furnace, which melts the gold and burns away the impurities (Prov 17:3).
Then, the liquid gold is poured into the mould and shaped according to what the craftsman wants to make of it.
This is what God is doing with Job. Job is a righteous saint, but God will refine him further. He has to be tried and proven. He has to be subjected to intense heat so that he may become a vessel even more useful to the LORD.
Although Job feels indignant that he has to suffer so terribly when he seeks to live righteously, he understands that God is refining him and that he will come out stronger and better. Though he would rather not go through the process, he is confident that when he comes out of it, he will be a better person, moulded for the LORD’s glory and use. This, dear reader, must be your confidence when you suffer trials. James put it this way:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing
Jas 1:2-4
Are you going through a difficult trial? Whatever your trial may be, remember that God is in control. He is seeking to cultivate your faith and Christian character of patience, hope and love for the Lord (Rom 5:1-5).
Remember that He is working all things together for your good.
Remember that “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Heb 12:6).
Remember that He knows the way that you take, and when He has tried you, you will come forth as gold. This is the Lord’s promise for all His children.
Conclusion
Learn, therefore, to rest in the Lord. Stop fighting against the circumstances in your life—even if it involves suffering. Pray not so much for deliverance from the trial but for the Lord’s strength and wisdom to grow.
Remember that the Lord knows your way. He is in control even when bad things happen to you. Indeed, He is refining you so that you may conform to the image of His son and enjoy Him and glorify Him more in this life and the life to come. Amen.
—JJ Lim