Trust
Posted in Misti's Posts 0 comments
Life is hard. Bad things happen all the time to the best of people. There are times when we are so afraid and we feel so alone. Have you ever wanted to just scream, "Where are you, God!" I certainly have, and I know someone who did.
Job's story in the Bible is a real life story. Job had it all; riches, family, comfort, happiness. Job also had a relationship with God that he thought was strong. Then, in what must have felt like an instant, it was all gone. When the circumstances of Job's life changed for the worse, that relationship he had with God was put to the ultimate test.
Why did these things happen to Job? No reason, really. Job hadn't done anything particularly heinous to deserve such a fate. Just a little discussion between God and Satan. Seems cruel, doesn't it? I'm sure that each of us can think of some similar examples in our time: cancer, car accidents, fires-so many senseless things can cause a person's world to turn upside down.
I read in a commentary on the book of Job that for the first 37 chapters of the story of this man's life, God did not show up-even though Job called out for Him. This truth seems pivotal to how Job's experience applies to our lives. When we find ourselves in times of trouble, we call out to God. The thing is, God's timing is so different from ours that we can begin to feel like he's never going to answer. Job had given up looking to God for answers. He started trying to guess, in his own wisdom, what had caused all this bad fortune. That's exactly what we do-we wonder if we unknowingly made a bad choice (or a series of them) that led us down a path of destruction. We fear that we've been wandering away from God, and that He has given up trying to steer us in the right direction.
In the worst days of our lives, it is essential that we remember that God doesn't do that to us. God is in control of everything, and He won't let us encounter anything alone. God never told Job why He let those things happen to Him. In fact, God scolded Job for thinking he was smarter than he really was. Chapter 38 of Job reads like a parent speaking to a rebellious teenager. (Anybody ever heard this: "I brought you into this world, I can take you out!"?) Throughout this monologue, though, what God is really saying is, "Trust me. I know what I'm doing."
Job's story in the Bible is a real life story. Job had it all; riches, family, comfort, happiness. Job also had a relationship with God that he thought was strong. Then, in what must have felt like an instant, it was all gone. When the circumstances of Job's life changed for the worse, that relationship he had with God was put to the ultimate test.
Why did these things happen to Job? No reason, really. Job hadn't done anything particularly heinous to deserve such a fate. Just a little discussion between God and Satan. Seems cruel, doesn't it? I'm sure that each of us can think of some similar examples in our time: cancer, car accidents, fires-so many senseless things can cause a person's world to turn upside down.
I read in a commentary on the book of Job that for the first 37 chapters of the story of this man's life, God did not show up-even though Job called out for Him. This truth seems pivotal to how Job's experience applies to our lives. When we find ourselves in times of trouble, we call out to God. The thing is, God's timing is so different from ours that we can begin to feel like he's never going to answer. Job had given up looking to God for answers. He started trying to guess, in his own wisdom, what had caused all this bad fortune. That's exactly what we do-we wonder if we unknowingly made a bad choice (or a series of them) that led us down a path of destruction. We fear that we've been wandering away from God, and that He has given up trying to steer us in the right direction.
In the worst days of our lives, it is essential that we remember that God doesn't do that to us. God is in control of everything, and He won't let us encounter anything alone. God never told Job why He let those things happen to Him. In fact, God scolded Job for thinking he was smarter than he really was. Chapter 38 of Job reads like a parent speaking to a rebellious teenager. (Anybody ever heard this: "I brought you into this world, I can take you out!"?) Throughout this monologue, though, what God is really saying is, "Trust me. I know what I'm doing."
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