Between 1 and 42
But when I looked for good, evil came to me; and when I waited for light, then came darkness.
Job 30:26
Pray for me ya’ll. Nothing’s wrong. I’m just reading the book of Job. Some of you may remember that I created a list of 37 things that I wanted to accomplish in my 37th year of life. Number 22 was read through the entire Bible. I found a devotional on YouVerse that lets you read the Bible in chronological order. It intrigued me, so I started the plan. And now I’m stuck in Job.
Stuck is a nice way of putting it. I have heard the story of Job throughout my life. Satan is walking back and forth on the earth. Looking for a nice test subject. He’s determined that we feeble humans only love God because of how good He is to us. Then God asks Satan if he’s considered Job. Job is an upright man that loves God. God gives Satan permission to do what he will, but he cannot take Job’s life. Wellllllllll…it gets real after that.
All of Job’s children are killed. His servants are murdered (except for the one that lives to tell the tale). His livestock, which is his wealth, is all gone as well. This doesn’t happen over a period of time. It happens in one day. As soon as he gets one bad report, another servant arrives with life changing news. Job’s reaction is natural. He tears his clothes. He goes into mourning.
Before I read the book of Job for myself, I didn’t really consider how long he mourned. I did not really ponder the length of his trial, because I knew the end of his story. It worked out for him in the end. But reading his personal torment gave me new insight. It goes bad for Job in chapter 1. He doesn’t get restored until chapter 42! Ya’ll!!!! Listen….
I needed this read. Not for the sake of comparison of trials and hardships in life. I needed to read this to understand that I may never know why life hits me so hard sometimes. I needed to read this to know that God can use every pain to deliver me to a place of promise. But that doesn’t mean it will be quick. And it doesn’t mean that it hurt any less than it would for someone else.
Job is an upright man. He’s not perfect, but he lives a life that focuses on pleasing God. He operates from a spirit of integrity, and yet, tragedy found him. Does he get depressed during his trial? Yes!!! Does he feel hopeless at times? Absolutely. Honestly in the part that I’m currently reading, he reminds me of myself. He’s trying to make sense of a situation that’s beyond his control. And I want to reach back thousands of years and let him know that it will be alright.
Since I can’t time travel and tell Job, I’ll tell you. Ya’ll we don’t know how long our trials will last. We can try to make sense out of senseless situations. We can drive ourselves crazy. And we have the right to do those things. But we also have the opportunity to fully trust that God has a plan for us. Even when it feels so hopeless. I’m glad that I’m diving into this Word. It’s helping me. But don’t forget to pray for me because I’m not at chapter 42 yet. It gets hard in the in-between. #wepreach
