Last week we looked at a passage where we saw God praising Job’s integrity. This week we see his wife wanting him to throw that integrity away and curse God. Two questions: why would his wife suggest this, and why would Job refuse? In response to the first question, I think we can all express some degree of understanding of Job’s wife’s position. Remember, Job lost everything he owned, his family was killed, and he is now afflicted with painful physical sores. We do not know how long this process has taken, whether it has been days, weeks, or even months at this point. What we do know is that Job has suffered as much as any one of us could ever imagine. We also know that when we are at the threshold of our own frustration or pain, we many times are tempted to look for the easy way out. The expectation of making it through a situation is overcome by the hardship or pain creating a greater desire to get OUT of it. This is where Job’s wife is. Regardless of the consequences, getting out, not through, is the choice she wishes to make. Has she truly thought through the consequences of dropping her integrity or cursing God? My guess is probably not.Job, on the other hand, makes a decision to accept the place where God has put him and to continue to hold to his integrity. Why? The same reason Job is in this situation! He is a man who fears God and shuns evil. That has made him a man who is referred to as blameless and upright and now one who maintains his integrity! Once again we see that all of this happened because Job chooses to have a relationship with God, AND GOD RESPONDED. Job is in no different circumstances than we are. God has offered us a relationship, and we can choose to either accept it and grow together with Him, OR NOT. While God is certainly a complex being, His desire is simple: to have a “Job-type” relationship with each of us. What is your response to the situation God has placed you in today? Are you praising God as Job did, or are you ready to get OUT?