Looking around as the sky churned with shades of gray. The wind was swirling, kicking and carrying dust over the fields with shrieks of surprise and fright. A few workers could be seen running. But given the swiftness of the events it was not unexpected. A single man remained starring out in the vast valley wondering what spurred the sudden happenings... His sense of being was about to be tested like the great heroes of faith: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Standing steady he received the different servants delivering their disparaging news of chaos like dominoes falling off of a table. Each one brought a story of destruction, thievery, mayhem and murder. The resilient man wore no crown save for the dirt he threw in the air after wailing over the sudden losses of his household. Then the man lowered to his knees and worshipped the Lord, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1: 21b ESV).”
Job had entered a testing of the ages. One where his perception and understanding couldn’t conceive all that had befallen him, but would bring merits of Faith to the forefront. As if to rub it in further the man felt a blanket of boils ripple up from his toes to the brow of his head (Job 2: 7). His perspective and relationship with His Creator was the issue at hand. If he were to lose everything but his life, would he curse the ground and the God that blessed him? Or would he wait it out until he had become purified into shades of gold (Job 23:10)?
Perception doesn’t always come with knowledge and knowledge doesn’t always afford understanding at least not in the immediate moment. Job through the course of a few servants learned that his children, wealth, and livelihood had been eviscerated. Finally, his health was taken too and his wife told him to cash-in and curse the One Who understood it all. But Job... he would not... he questioned... drew up his defense... looked all around in searching for Him! “Behold, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; on the left hand when He is working, I do not behold Him; He turns to the right hand, but I do not see Him (Job 23: 8-9 ESV).” Job knew that whenever the end came that God would give insight and understanding.
Venerated once before, Job was now being chastised by those very same friends. He did not yet know if this would lead to his final demise, but what he did know was that even though everything had been stripped from him, he would remain in faith. This steadfastness is what the Lord knew was inside of Job. Other’s did not. But in the end of it, “the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before (Job 42: 10 ESV).” Knowledge and Understanding had come...
Like dominoes stacked all around you, God has set you as His center piece. You are His desire and He wants you and His blessings come with Him. No matter what lies in front of you or how bad the reports come back, be sure that His desire is to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29: 11). If the dam restricts the rivers, if the drought dries the lakes, if the oceans turn putrid, know this, He’ll send the rains!
Godspeed, The Journeyman
p.s. Today’s story is the journey of Job and the realization of God’s depth when we don’t always have full knowledge or understanding of the situations. Hold fast and realize you are not alone. Paul proclaimed: “oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable His ways (Romans 11: 33 ESV)!
Job 1: 21b ESV “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job 2: 7 ESV “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.”
Job 23: 8-9 ESV “Behold, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; on the left hand when He is working, I do not behold Him; He turns to the right hand, but I do not see Him.”
Job 23: 10 ESV “But He knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.”
Job 42: 10 ESV “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
Jeremiah 29: 11 KJV “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
Romans 11: 33 ESV “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable His ways!”
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