“I reject this life of mine. It is all the same.”
~Job 9:21,22

Discouragement is one one of Satan’s chief, most effective tactics.
If we do not believe our service to God makes any difference, we are in danger of making self-centered choices instead of responsible ones.
While the loss of Job’s material possessions, his health and his family did not shake him to the point that he incurred sin, it did make him question his relevance.
“If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression and be cheerful,’ I would still be afraid because of all my pains, and I know you would not find me innocent. I would be found guilty. So why should I struggle in vain?” (Job 9:27-29).
Job’s faith was starting to struggle, and if he kept on that course, his endurance would have suffered the consequences.
Heightening his challenge was his insomnia, which was so bad in itself that he preferred the peace of death over his unrelenting misery (Job 7:3,4,14).
In his defense, Job ignored the origin of his trials and erroneously attributed them to God (Job 7:17,18).
But because Jehovah knows just how much pain one individual can really bear, He eventually stepped in to adjust Job’s point of view (Jas. 5:11).
How wonderful it is to understand God’s word and know that ‘He is faithful and will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear’ (1 Cor. 10:13).
Through a clear understanding of Job’s experience, we can find comfort and hope and even endure the seemingly worst of trials, including deep depression (Rom. 15:4).
We can appreciate how relevant we really are to God and resist Satan’s tactic to make us think otherwise (Prov. 27:11).