It’s amazing when God redeems the broken, painful, and shameful parts of our lives, even the things we hate, and wish had never happened. Somehow the Master weaves it all into something beautiful revealing His goodness and grace more clearly. Things that once felt like a curse can actually become part of the blessing. selah
Water can't sink a boat unless it gets in the boat. Challenging situations in this fallen world cannot bring you down unless you rehearse them allowing them to get inside. Sometimes in life it even gets too dark to run. That’s when you’ll be glad you never let go of God’s hand. GUARD YOUR HEART AND KEEP LOOKING TO HIM!
It's important for you to read, and study, all of the Bible. This is why Turn The Page is such a great plan forcing you to face the things in Scripture most people prefer not to talk about. We are going to talk about some of these things in this season.
Job 1:1-3 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. ESV
This wasn’t just some “mom and pop” operation. One source I read suggested Job would have had 1,000 employees to work a ½ million-acre ranch to contain all of this livestock. He had an estimated $1 billion+ in livestock generating an estimated $100 million income every year.
Job 1:4-5 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus, Job did continually. ESV
Then we read verses 6-12 where Satan comes to God and says of course Job serves you, you’ve blessed everything he does. If he loses everything, he will turn away from you. Job lost everything! His entire business was gone in a day and the unthinkable, he even lost his children.
Job’s response is worth evaluating and even meditating on personally for each of us. We live in a fallen world with suffering that was never part of God’s plan so will never be able to be explained. It is not God’s will that any perish but many do. God rarely gets his way and human accusations get piled on his already broken heart.
Instead of trying to come up with theological conclusions to satisfy Job’s confusion with explanations he simply pressed into God.
Job 1:20-22 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 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.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. ESV
For those Suffering: Job says, “You are not alone.” Suffering doesn’t mean God has left you.
For the Theologian: Be slow to speak. Job’s friends had Biblical conclusions, arguments and answers but totally missed God’s heart.
For the Seeker: There’s a God big enough to hear your honest questions and address your deepest pain.
The darkroom development process: Images must be developed if they are to become visible and clear. Under-developed images are uneven and unclear. In a dark room they are exposed to a chemical that purposefully and consistently agitates every part of the film surface to prevent underdevelopment causing a distortion of the image. Finally, after consistent irritation there is a “stop bath” where the image is rinsed and made permanent, finally able to be brought into the light. This describes the process of bearing God’s image well in this world.
GP2RL: Take some time with some of life’s disappointments and ask God to meet you there with grace as you choose to worship Him.
