July 16

Job

          One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.”  While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.”  While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.”

                Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped.  He said, “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.”  In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

Job 1:13-22

           

            Job was a good man.  He was held up by God as a shining example of righteous humanity.  He loved God. God loved Him.  God poured out blessings in Job’s life such as great wealth and a happy, healthy family.

            And then, in one incredibly brutal day, it all went away.  Raids and murders and natural disasters and fire from heaven all struck at the blessings that God had given to Job and he was left with next to nothing.  He had his health and his wife and a few servants and the rest of his legacy was gone.  Job was devastated.  This was not how the story was supposed to go in his later years.  He wept.  He mourned.  But he did not blame God.

            Bad things happen.  Tragedies come.  Heartbreak hits.  It could be the loss of a job.  It could be a diagnosis of autism.  It could be the loss of a loved one.  We have good friends who discovered that their little girl had cancer and had to dive into a brand new life of doctors and treatments and crisis management in a brand new city for the foreseeable future.  There are some who attribute the hard times of life to bad luck.  Some call it karma.  Some state that they are under spiritual attack and that the devil only goes after those who pose a threat to him.

            I have spent a lot of time in my life trying to figure out the “why” of suffering.  Why is this happening to us?  What did we do to deserve it?  What is the lesson that we need to learn in order to make it stop?  If we know the “why” then we have a little more control of our life and control is what we crave in the midst of suffering.

            I have come to believe that the “why” is less important than the “how” as in “how do we deal with adversity and suffering.”  The “why” for Job is pretty straight forward…Satan’s a jerk that wanted to prove something.  Even if Job knew exactly why he lost everything, the important thing was how he responded to God in the midst of his pain.

            Job

          One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.”  While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.”  While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.”

                Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped.  He said, “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.”  In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

Job 1:13-22

           

            Job was a good man.  He was held up by God as a shining example of righteous humanity.  He loved God. God loved Him.  God poured out blessings in Job’s life such as great wealth and a happy, healthy family.

            And then, in one incredibly brutal day, it all went away.  Raids and murders and natural disasters and fire from heaven all struck at the blessings that God had given to Job and he was left with next to nothing.  He had his health and his wife and a few servants and the rest of his legacy was gone.  Job was devastated.  This was not how the story was supposed to go in his later years.  He wept.  He mourned.  But he did not blame God.

            Bad things happen.  Tragedies come.  Heartbreak hits.  It could be the loss of a job.  It could be a diagnosis of autism.  It could be the loss of a loved one.  We have good friends who discovered that their little girl had cancer and had to dive into a brand new life of doctors and treatments and crisis management in a brand new city for the foreseeable future.  There are some who attribute the hard times of life to bad luck.  Some call it karma.  Some state that they are under spiritual attack and that the devil only goes after those who pose a threat to him.

            I have spent a lot of time in my life trying to figure out the “why” of suffering.  Why is this happening to us?  What did we do to deserve it?  What is the lesson that we need to learn in order to make it stop?  If we know the “why” then we have a little more control of our life and control is what we crave in the midst of suffering.

            I have come to believe that the “why” is less important than the “how” as in “how do we deal with adversity and suffering.”  The “why” for Job is pretty straight forward…Satan’s a jerk that wanted to prove something.  Even if Job knew exactly why he lost everything, the important thing was how he responded to God in the midst of his pain.

            Here in Alaska, we are very attuned to the seasons of the year.  There are seasons of light and seasons of darkness.  There are seasons of warmth and seasons of bitter cold.  In every season there are dangers and there are opportunities.  In every season there is beauty and things to learn from God.  Those who only enjoy the summer tend to leave quickly.  Those who only see the wonder in the 22 hour days but not the 22 hour nights live in misery for most of the year.  We do not wonder why it can’t be summer year round, we simply consider how we should prepare ourselves to thrive when winter comes.

            Life is filled with seasons.  There are seasons of joy and seasons of sorrow; seasons of blessings and seasons of loss.  Hardship does not necessarily mean that we have done something wrong.  It could just be that this is a season of struggle.  In every season, both the good and the bad, there are dangers and opportunities.  In every season there is beauty and something to learn about God.  Our invitation is to learn how to respond well to God both in the warm summer seasons and in the bitter cold seasons of this life.  He is there with treasure for us through them all.

A moment to reflect:

What season are you in right now?  Where is God in this season?