Job - A Man of God

Don't think for one minute this cancer trial my family & me are going through is the only trial out there! Don't think for one minute there's not any heartache that compares! It simply isn't true! For as many families, there's as many heartaches. For as many families, there's that many trials. For reasons of privacy & confidentiality, I don't share the emails & notes I recieve about many of these matters publically. (People can do that on their own.) But, because people share their journies & trials with Mike & me privately, we have insight to the struggles in the lives of people. Even though the walks are so difficult & heart wrenching, they're also encouraging & uplifting when they're people of faith! Isn't that weird? Isn't it strange that this group of people "count it all joy" to walk through the valleys of life? Isn't it hard to explain to the world that it's all going to be ok?

I think of Job a lot. (NOT that I'm Job, for I'm not making that comarison.) Job was a man who loved God. He was a man who had been blessed & lived a blessed lifestyle. Then, God allows many of his dearest familiy & much of his wealth to be stripped from him. Job lost so much, including his own health. God was certain Job would remain faithful & he did. But, the journey was a very difficult one nonetheless.

The picture of Job being able to tell His Creator the depth of his heart is an amazing one! For no other religion can so readily & fearlessly face their King with the truth of their feelings! After one of these "talks", in about Job chapter40 or so, (in the Old Testament of the Bible) God says some incredible things to Job! (36 years ago at Abilene Christian University, I had to study the book of Job in a required Bible class & I must confess the book & study made me quite angry! The whole story & response of God didn't set well with me at first. Then, as the study continued, I began to understand more of what was really happening between God a man He loved.) In this "talk", Job tells God what he thinks & feels. He shares with Him his anger, lack of understanding of God's actions & basically lays his heart open to God.

I guess the part of the story of Job's life I think about the most, is after he & God have some of their heart to heart talks & Job puts it all out there about what he's thinking & feeling about his circumstances, his loss & his life. God then responds by basically saying that the next time you hang the stars in the sky, we'll talk. The next time you understand the depths of the seas or hold the moutains in the palm of your hands, we'll discuss this matter. The next time you speak the sun up in the morning or have it set in the evening, we'll visit! WOW! At first this sounds like God is really putting Job down & telling him he must stop talking because he's so unimportant. But, instead it's God elevating Himself to His rightful position & revealing to Job of just what a mighty God he serves. That He's a God who created the universe with his breath & a God who can be trusted with our lives. God loved Job so much & had his best interest at heart every moment of Job's life! It was not a put-down to Job at all- but, rather a confirmation of God's status & ability to care completely for Job.

That's what I love about Job's journey & life with God! It was real & true & hard & blessed! Job walked with God & stayed a man of God. He was blessed more by a loving & capable God.

I hold to who God is. I hold to His character & ability. I hold to His faithfulness & strength. I hold to the fact He speaks the sun up & it is so. I hold to Him hanging the stars in the universe. I hold to His love for me & you!

Yes, we walk a lot of difficult journeys! Some unbelievable trials are before us- but we hold!

Blessings!