Month: January 2021

Job 17:1 My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.

Job has lost his children, his wife (in that she told him to curse God and die. She seems to have turned away from God when disaster struck.), his property and livestock, his health, and, in a way, his friends because they seem so focused on telling him what he should be doing to stop the affliction that they are unable to be present with him in comfort during his suffering. To me, this chapter is very much about him trying to reconcile all of that loss and pain with the God he believes in.

Job 17:13, 15 If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in the realm of darkness….where then is my hope—who can see any hope for me?

To me, Job 17:13 & 15 seem a glimmer of hope. I process Job’s suffering through my own, but to me, he seems to be saying, “If I ‘curse God and die,’ turning my back on Him because of my suffering and loss, then there is no hope for me.” I came to a similar conclusion during the difficult season of 2017. If there weren’t some deeper meaning, higher purpose to all that I endured, a meaning and purpose that I just couldn’t see, then there was no hope for me in a loving God. Instead of turning away, I cling to the fact that God is good and loving and that there are things I just can’t understand about what was befalling me. I decided, emphatically, to trust God.

Job 17:15 …where then is my hope—who can see any hope for me?

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the hope that can only come from You. Thank You for the ability, even in my pain and confusion, to trust that You are good, sovereign, and loving, even when I don’t understand. Draw me closer. Amen.

Job 17:15 …where then is my hope—who can see any hope for me?

Have a blessed day.

Job 16:1-2 Then Job replied: “I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you!”

There is something I’ve seen several times recently about a man saying that he and his wife avoid a lot of arguments by asking if the one talking wants comfort or solutions—wants just to be heard or wants potential action steps. I feel like this is a large part of the current issue with Job and his friends. Job seems to want comfort. He wants to be heard and understood. His friends have shifted fully into solution mode—here’s your problem. Here’s how to fix it. This mismatch of intentions does not go well.

Job 16:3 “Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing?”

Additionally, commentary says that one of the benefits of suffering is that it makes the sufferer more empathetic towards others who suffer, more willing to listen so that others feel heard, more willing to validate than to try to fix. I think all of this is coming into play here. Job wants to be heard. His friends want to help fix.

Job 16:4 “I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for a new level of understanding of the book of Job. Thank You that my suffering helps me to be more present and empathetic to those who are suffering. Help me to shine Your Light for all who need it. Draw me closer. Amen.

Job 16:5 “But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.”

Have a blessed day.

Job 15:7 “Are you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?”

This speech by Eliphaz seems to represent a tipping point with the friends and their argument. They first respectfully sat in silent mourning with Job for a week. Then they gently tell him what they see as his issue (unrepented sin). Yet as Job maintains his innocence and anger at God, the friends seem to get angry at Job, insisting that he, his sins, are at the root of his suffering.

Job 15:8 “Do you listen in on God’s council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?”

It almost seems that Eliphaz has now engaged so strongly in his argument with Job that he forgot that he cared enough about Job to sit a week in silent mourning with him. It’s almost as if being right, winning this argument with Job about his fault in his situation, has become the most important thing. 

Job 15:9 “What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have?”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that You love people, not winning arguments. Help us to remember that if we get so caught up in our opinions of being right at any cost, we may well miss the opportunity to minister to the very people who need You most. Draw us closer. Amen.

Job 15:11 “Are God’s consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you?”

Have a blessed day.

Job 14:5 “A person’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”

This chapter of Job put me squarely in mind of the phoenix in Greek mythology, rising from the ashes. That’s one of the mental images that helps me wrap my mind around the concept of God bringing beauty from ashes. And while Job is talking about the death of a person versus the death of a tree, which isn’t really death as long as roots are in the ground, I think his analogy holds up for his situation as well.

Job 14:7 “At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.”

I’ve talked before about my questionable gardening skills, about how I’ve had beautiful plants that I somehow led to the brink of destruction, about how God brought them back to life, showed me hope through precious, fragile buds when I had almost given up. That cycle is what I see here. Job is sitting, literally and figuratively, in his ashes. He has almost given up hope. Yet God knows He’s not done, beauty will come from ashes.

Job 14:8 “Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil….”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the hope I am able to see abundantly in this reading of Job—hope in beauty from ashes, hope that the worst thing is never the last thing, hope in You. Help me to cling to Your hope and shine Your light. Draw me closer. Amen.

Job 14:9 “…yet at the scent of water it will bid and put forth shoots like a plant.“

Have a blessed day.

Job 13:3 “… I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God.”

My first reaction to this verse is shock at Job’s nerve. My internal dialogue is, “Seriously, dude? You want to go toe-to-toe with God? That won’t end well.” And then I think back to the spring of 2017, to stomping angrily around the yard, yelling my frustration at God, exhausting my anger, and realizing that even when He says no, even when I am angry and afraid, even when I don’t understand, I trust Him because He loves me.

Job 13:15 “Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him.”

What if I were not so open about my emotions? What if I had stuffed down my anger, frustration, and ultimately, fear? It would not have led me closer to God. It would have put a barrier between us. Only when I allowed myself to give vent to that anger was I able to move past it to the fear that lay just under the surface. Only then was I able to say that even though I felt like everything was falling down around me, I knew God loved me, loved those I love, and that He had some higher purpose that I could not understand. Being honest with God about the anger allowed me to move through to trust.

Job 13:20 “Only grant me these two things, God, and then I will not hide from You….”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that we can be real and honest with You, that You are big enough to handle these feelings, and that only by going through those feelings can we emerge into foundationally-solid trust in You. Draw us closer. Amen.

Job 13:22 “Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak, and You reply to me.”

Have a blessed day.

Job 10:1 “I loathe my life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.”

The spring and summer of 2017 were a time of tremendous pain, stress, and loss. A heart attack, an unexpected, devastating death, an impulsive suicide attempt paired with grief and an utter lack of impulse control, leading to fear of a reprise. Interestingly, with all the heavy hits, the straw that broke the camel’s back was utterly insignificant. Through all the fear, grief, and turmoil, I never asked, “Why, God?” But an unexpected visit when the only thing I asked God for was the time, space, and privacy for the hubs and I to make a crucial decision without interference brought me to my knees.

Job 10:8 “Your hands shaped me and made me. Will You now turn and destroy me?”

I remember, vividly, walking the dog around the yard, yelling at God: “Seriously?!? With all I’ve had to endure, I asked for ONE thing, and You can’t even give me that?” You won’t be surprised to know I never got an answer, but what I did get was His presence through it all. None of it was easy. Some days I had to take it one breath, one step at a time. But I learned unequivocally that He is with me, even when life is grossly unfair, that His strength is sufficient, even when mine is gone.

Job 10:20 “Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy.” (NIV)

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You that I can be real and honest and broken with You. Thank You for Your steadfast presence and strength when the world feels like it is falling apart. Thank You for never turning away, even in my anger and fear, even when I lash out at You in my pain. Thank You for Your mercy and grace and Your deep love for me. Amen.

Job 10:20 “I have only a few days left, so leave me alone, so that I may have a moment of comfort….” (NLT)

Have a blessed day.

Job 9:15 “Though I were blameless, I could not answer Him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.”

I am thankful that I can read this chapter through the lens of Jesus. The Old Testament God and the new New Testament God are very different. One is angry and vengeful. The Other will leave the 99 to save the one. I am thankful that I CAN plead with my fiercely loving, grace-filled Judge for mercy and know that He hears and answers my prayers, even if I can’t yet perceive it.

Job 9:27-28 “If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression and smile,’ I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent.”

As Job wrestlers with his inability to cleanse himself of his sinfulness, the verses in today’s reflection, for me, underscore the fact that I am not worthy, can never be worthy, and yet, mercifully, I am still washed clean by my Savior. There is much hope for me here.

Job 9:29 “Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the hope that can only come from You. Thank You for Your Son, Jesus, who has the power, love, grace, and mercy to cleanse me of my sins, especially since I lack all power to do so on my own. Let Your praise always be on my lips. Draw me closer. Amen.

Job 9:30-31 “Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder, you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me.”

Have a blessed day.

Job 8:3 “Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?”

Thus begins the speech, dare I say accusations, if Bildad. To paraphrase, “God is just. He rewards the good and punishes the wicked.” “Clearly you brought this on yourself” is definitely implied. It was common philosophy of the time, but utter rubbish, especially in light of the first chapter of Job, where God praises Job for his faithfulness and allows ha satan (the accuser) to test him. 

Job 8:20 “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless or strengthen the hands of evildoers.”

God doesn’t reward the good and punish the wicked. It might seem fair and just if life worked that way, but life is more complex. Humans are more nuanced. Perhaps this is the root of much of my struggle with the book of Job. God seems unfair. His actions seem unjust. But as I am reading Job this time, I just keep thinking that there is simply so much that I just don’t know, that I can’t understand. God is sovereign, and I am not. God is loving, to a degree that it is impossible for me to understand. I can trust Him.

Job 8:21 “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the hope in verse 21. No matter the trials we face, no matter the cause, You are greater, more loving, more merciful. You will yet fill my mouth with laughter and my lips with shouts of joy. Help me to hold on to that hope, no matter what I face. Draw me closer. Amen.

Job 8:22 “Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”

Have a blessed day.