Good morning,
What
can keep us going when our world falls apart? According to God, Job
was the most righteous man on earth when God decided that he could trust
this good man with a lesson that would help all of us profit from the
challenges of a personal world that fell apart. What God knew about Job
that Job didn’t know about himself, was that the basic motive for Job’s
faithfulness was rooted in his fear of what God would do to him if he
didn’t get it right. Job was a very determined man, but when God
arranged for him to lose his wealth, his health, his position of
authority and then his best friends became his ruthless accusers, he was
forced to look beyond his own goodness to the goodness of his
Redeemer. To Job, the God that he had been serving so faithfully was
really there to keep his world together. Now his world was full of
pain. His body hurt, his heart hurt, his head hurt and now his own
friends were determined to convince him that the life he had been living
was a cover up for his hidden sins.
Job really did love the God
of creation, but the confusion and pain that were part of God’s good
plan were designed to get his focus off of his own goodness and, in
desperation, get him to focus on the goodness of his Eternal Redeemer.
Job’s eyes were beginning to focus on the one who knew him perfectly and
loved him perfectly. Deep inside, he just knew that when he was face
to face with God, his Redeemer would see things right and make things
right. When God did show up he found himself with a whole new set of
problems. His Redeemer started the conversation by asking Job questions
like “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?”
And then he added “I have some questions for you and you must answer
them.” God kept asking him pages of questions and then when Job
apologized for his attitude, God added “Will you discredit my justice
and condemn me just to prove you are right?” After more pages of
questions God threw in the question “Who has given me anything that I
need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine.” When God stopped
asking him questions, Job finally got it right. He said, “ I know that
you can do anything, and no one can stop you.” Job’s conversation with
his Redeemer ended with “I take back everything I said, and sit in dust
and ashes to show my repentance.” May our Savior help us to learn the
lessons Job learned so that our meeting with our Redeemer will be one of
joy and not of shame.
Job 19:25 “But as for me, I know
that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. 26
And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! 27 I will
see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am
overwhelmed at the thought!
Roy Wisner
