“Behold, I am vile” (Job 40:4)  

When Job says to God, “I am vile”, he acknowledges his absolute dependence on the grace of God. 

 In the beginning of the Book of Job, God asks Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?" (Job 1:8). Satan answers, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? ... stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" (Job 1:9-11). God gave Satan permission to destroy all the reasons Job could have to remain faithful to God ... except one. God didn’t give Satan permission to destroy Job’s Saving Faith. 

 The reader might logically ask, “If Satan removed all the evidence of God’s love, wouldn’t that destroy Job’s faith in a loving God?” If that’s your question, you don’t understand Saving Faith. The Apostle Paul described Saving Faith this way: “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). 

 The basis of your relationship with God will always be, you are a debtor, and God is your creditor. If you think God owes you something because of what you’ve been able to do (by His grace) since He saved you, you’re headed for a trial. Get back on the road of Saving Faith. “Giving thanks always for all things to God” (Ephesians 5:20). “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3). 

 When everything is falling apart, when you’re stripped down to Saving Faith, say with Job, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21).