Job was a man who feared God and turned away from evil. A husband, a father, a well respected man in his community. 10 children. 7,000 sheep. 3,000 camels. 500 yoke of oxen. 500 donkeys. Numerous servants. One of the greatest of all of the people of the east.
Then. Fire and tornadoes claim every animal, almost every servant. A great wind strikes down all 10 of his children. What would we think as we bury 10 children? Could we even lift our head? Job thought this: “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21. This is a very difficult book to grasp. It's a very telling first response from Job. He had made peace with his Maker. Called to the Almighty God as the center of his rich life, even with all the wealth washed away. An irrevocable calling.
God's Love does not stand outside of His justice. Nothing He does violates anything about Who He is. He is kind, merciful, just, love. Never out of balance. So, how do we understand this enormous kind of suffering? The presence of evil.
The 5 key words in this book: Almighty/ Evil/ How/ Why/ Wisdom/
Had Job heard of Adam and Eve? Had the Creation story been passed along to him through travelers? Job wasn't wrestling with if he would follow God. He is wrestling with how much he has to suffer. There are irreversible things in Job's life just like in mine and yours. Irreversible Love. God never stopped loving Job. God may have changed his mind about whether Job could keep the temporal gifts given to him but Romans 11:29 says that God does not change His Mind about whom He chooses and blesses. God was not finished with Job. And He is not finished with you and with me.
COME BOLDLY PRAYER
C.S. Lewis, one of the most acclaimed apologists, admitted doubt when his wife passed away from cancer. Madeleine L'Engle wrote: It gives us permission to admit our doubts, our own angers and anguishes, and to know that they are a part of the soul's growth. C.S. Lewis knew the stakes were high in life. "You are playing not for counters or for sixpences but for every penny you have in the world. Nothing less will shake a man–or at any rate a man like me…Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself.” Open our eyes to see, O God, where we are, and give us the courage to call it what it is.
PHOTO: Standing on a million grains of sand on Santa Rosa Island, Summer of 2006, watching the sunrise. A stranger, a young woman in her twenties, approached me and said: "I've come to tell you that the LORD is with you in what you are going through." My husband had just been let go of his church job of 27 years. She didn't know. No Words. I walked a mile or two and sauntered back to the sacred spot where she was. She was gone. There was no one on the sunlit beach. Just the LORD and me.
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Nothing perhaps tries our faith like these horrible things that Job had happen to him. Huge things for anyone, and Job was one depressed man! But he kept his faith. When trials come, the truth is that the Christian has a choice to make. We can either choose faith or fall away. Job got it. No one can imagine what loss and defeat are working behind the scenes in our lives. But we can trust that God will never let us go. He will work it for our eternal good. Our part: Tether our heart closely to His Feet and take our true place before Him--not friends or spouse. Hang on and trust. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
ReplyDeleteJob 1:20 ~ "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Amen! Blessed be the name of the Lord!
DeleteIn today's passage, we read about Job losing livestock, servants, and all His children. I cannot begin to fathom his loss or state of mind. What I can fathom is being a friend to someone who's suffered great loss. I've learned over the years to listen and not speak much when comforting someone. When Eliphaz speaks, I think stop - be quiet, pray more before you talk and only speak a few words of comfort.
ReplyDeleteI loved your story of the woman on the beach. God is always at work around us. Thanks for sharing and helping me to keep the faith.
ReplyDeleteAmen to all of your thoughts!!! i am such a mess, the thought that He is not through with me yet, brings great comfort to my soul. To suffer the loss of all that Job suffered is unthinkable. Tremendous loss. He did not even curse God when he lost his health. Oh, how I take my health for granted.It is a treasure that none of us need to take for granted at all. One of the many blessings that I have, no matter my aches and complaints and hurts and irregular sleep patterns, I have so much to be thankful for. I am right there with Annette...to be quiet and pray more before I speak when someone needs words of comfort and then only speak a few words....for in many words I will get my everything all twisted and end up not giving any comfort at all. And I so agree with Janet....Bev the things you share and the things that others share in their transparency on here, help my faith o grow and enable me to keep the faith....I am a much better Christian for having read the Bible through with the Pearls all of these years.
ReplyDeleteLove you so. From one mess to another. We are all a mess, and He loves us so much. All our obedience does not gain one more ounce of God's love. Unbelievable!
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ReplyDeleteVerizon turned our 4 cell phones off during the night last night. I've always paid on the 4th day of the month for over a decade. VZ said I changed the plan December 11th with a verbal promise to pay on the 31st. I barely remember the call. No warning. They wanted $200 to reinstate service. I am not proud of this---I went into WWIII mode on the phone with them this morning. God uses the everyday shenanigans to show us what's in our heart---and it was not pretty. You would have thought they had robbed my house. Why can't I be like the Les Mis guy and say: Here, take the candlesticks too. Let your sin surprise you! The rest of the story is: they have reduced the fee to turn 4 phones on from $200 to $60. I'm still not happy about this. Funny how life is moving along and you get a phone call and . . . I kept apologizing profusely to all 7 of the people I spoke with over a 3-hour period.
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