When the disciples returned to Jesus rejoicing that demons had submitted to their words, Jesus exhorted them to look beyond this success and to rejoice that their names are written in heaven.

Job's sufferings taught him to look to God beyond all that he had lost: material wealth, offspring and the blessing of good health. To those who are faithful to God, material wealth, offspring, good health and other such gifts are, above all, signs of God's grace. They are not only an end in themselves but also a means to help us experience the loving accompaniment of Our Lord.

Time and again, people equate temporal power and material comfort with God's grace and the lack of it as God's punishment. Such an understanding is largely incomplete and insufficient in helping us to grow in faith. We experience God through our family and loving friends, for, being gifts of God to us, they are pointers to God, who is the source of all goodness.

Thus, despite his great loss, Job remained faithful to God and prevailed over all the trials he went through.