No matter what . . .

 

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer. Trust God no matter how dark your situation. God says, “You are coming out!”

 

READ Job 9-12

God’s timing is incredible. This week I started reading Job and this week a medical report says I need “non-urgent further tests” which could mean nothing. However, the threat of them meaning something cannot be ignored.

Job’s ‘friends’ suggested “what did you do to deserve this?” just as the spiritual enemy tries to do with God’s people these days. However, this man sets an example. My situation is nothing compared to his, yet he maintained his faith despite the thoughts that came at him like arrows of fire. I could be being prepared for arrows.

Today’s devotional reading for this section is from chapter 9 and speaks to my heart. In the reading, Job is responding to Bildad. Like Eliphaz, he had the idea that God rewards those who do good and any suffering is proof of sin. So far, I’ve not had that thrown at me, yet I sense that God is giving me the answer to defend any such notion.

Job asserts his innocence. He knows the Lord judges all, but he also knows God’s mercy. He says, “I am blameless; I regard not myself; I loathe my life” in opposition to the accusations (Job 9:21). He insists he is not at fault or being punished even though they persist that he is concealing something that he has done. He does not consider himself worth such subterfuge.

His next declaration is a comfort thought also. He says: “My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good.” (Job 9:25) This man knows that life is short and the good is yet to come. Suffering is temporary and will end. The NT puts it this way:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16–18)

I had a big number birthday less than three weeks ago. I was ill as a child and my parents were told I would die before reaching 16. Borrowed time? No, amazing grace. Each day is a gift. Afflictions are but a blink compared to eternity. I agree with Job; life here goes up and down, but eternity is only glory!

Job also affirms God’s sovereignty. We cannot judge Him or what He is doing. No one can do what Job’s ‘friends’ did in claiming they knew His purposes. I scarcely know what He is up to even when He clearly guides me. I might understand that next step but have no idea where it will take me. Only God can see beyond it and only God is worthy of our trust. The evaluations of his ‘friends’ are speculations based on the foolish idea that our actions mess with Almighty God’s plans.

For me, trust means that regardless of what comes next, God is God, but He is also good, righteous and holy. He has every right to strike me with lightning or bless me with a long and healthy life — His choice. Trust means I believe God knows what He is doing, even when I am in the dark.

It also means understanding the motivations and reasonings of sinfulness. I know my own tendencies to ‘play God’ and can spot such thoughts in my own head as well as the same thoughts presented to me by others. Well-meaning people can miss the mark. I know because I’ve been there and done that.

From these chapters, I see what the devotional author sees: Job is steadfast; his faith is unshaken. He knows God well. He is told that God’s ways are mysterious by those who claim to know God’s ways! He saw through their arrogance and replied:

“No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock. In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip. The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hand.” (Job 12:2–6)

Whatever God was doing, Job trusted Him, not the idea that he could control God by his own behavior, nor did he assume trials gave him or anyone reason to put down and blame those who experience them. This affirms to me that God does not have to explain what He is doing to enable faith. He will provide all that I need to trust Him, no matter what He sends my way.