I just finished reading Job, one of my favorite books of the bible. Most of you who know me know that I enjoy theoretical discussions about theology (or any subject, really). That's essentially what Job is. Job is a righteous man who's life falls apart around him, and he can't understand why. He sees the injustice of a world in which wicked men seemingly prosper without fear of consequence while a righteous man is allowed to lose all that he has. Job's friends, believing reward and punishment to be strictly based on one's own righteousness, insist to Job that he is not a righteous man, but must have committed great sins against the LORD. So back and forth they go, with Job insisting he is righteous before God, and his friends insisting that cannot be. Of course, we know that life is not so black and white, and that really is the point of the story. Sin has marred all of creation, and all fall short of God's glory.
I love the diatribe of the LORD at the end of Job, when he blasts away Job's hubris by describing the grandeur of His creation. When compared to the rest of the world, Job sees himself as a righteous man, but next to God in all His glory, he falls woefully short. Job, however, is righteous enough to recognize this, and he truly humbles himself before God in the end, which leads to many blessings for his family.
What does this say to us? To me it says that bad things will happen on this side of Christ; that's part of the human experience. Yet if we continue to follow God humbly and defer to Him, there is much to look forward to in the future, whether in this life or the next. I know Kari and I are in that place right now, as we are in a difficult situation and sometimes feel like nothing is going right. I pray that we can be like Job, and humble ourselves to the LORD's will.
1 comment:
Wow, how true that is. Some days are easier than others to yield to the knowledge that even the hard things are okay, that God IS in control and I can just let it go. But truthfully, most of the time I am constantly making my own plans, trying to fix my problems (and sometimes others) on my own power. Reminds me of our pastor's sermon this last week about giving it to God and letting HIS power and plans unfold. He likened it to an airplane trip. You get on the airplane and as soon as the engines start up, you start flapping your wings (arms) to help the airplane stay in the air. The faster the plane goes, the more you flap your wings. About an hour into the flight, you're totally exhausted and can no longer flap so you stop and, guess what? The plane is still flying! Why? Because we never had the power to hold the plane up to begin with! How many times do I spend wasted time and energy flapping my wings when God's been in control the whole time? Too many. Just wonder why I have to learn that lesson weekly at times, if not daily. Will it ever really sink in? Probably not totally on this side of heaven, but I'm a work in progress.
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