If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I am mesmerized by the book and the person of Job.
I am in awe at how he suffered, and yet was still willing to offer up praise to his Creator:
“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job 1:21
Job was a good and righteous man. He had many earthly treasures, and all were taken from him. After losing all of the people, and things, and health that was good, he is tormented by his neighbors. They are certain that Job must have sinned terribly for God to have cursed himself in every part of his life, and they (like tabloid editors) want to know all of the details of his sin.
Job sits and listens to their speeches.
But, Job was real too. Although he never ceased to praise his Maker, he also had his pity party:
“I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me.
You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me.
You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; you toss me about in the storm.
I know you will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.”
Job 30:20-23
In the end, God responds both to Job’s ‘friends’, as well as to Job’s groaning:
Then Job, in humility, and understanding of who is really in charge, replied to the Lord:
“I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
Job 40:2-3
“The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.”
Job 42:12
“All of my ambitions, hopes and plans
I surrender all of these, into Your hands
For it’s only in Your will that I am free”
* if you want to see more of the stories of the Bible told with similar images, check out The Brick Testament
itsawonderfilledlife 