Consider Job

 I have been sharing this with everyone I talk to so I thought I would also post about it here.

I have started doing a chronological reading of the Bible (and it just took me 3 misspellings to get that word down correctly!) and when I got to Job last week, I expected to find it less engaging than Genesis. Not so.

Job 1-5 were the first chapters on the list and I barely made it past the reading because I found myself in tears. I mean, tears just started pouring when I realized how my sister's story - and my mother's and so many other people out there - mirrored Job's. He lost property, family, and health. Yet - and this is the part that made me think of my sister and mother - he never lost faith in God.

Maybe I am just being hypersensitive but I can't tell you how that realization hit me. I started texting my family and telling them.

This reading and its blessing came at a great time. I have friends and neighbors who are really starting to buckle a bit under this lockdown and the always-horrible news. My best friend and one of my neighbors have been especially hard hit by not being able to attend their churches. My best friend has been sick a lot lately and fellowship with those in her church was always something that gave her strength. The other day she spent a short time in the hospital and when she got home, she was so down and depressed that I didn't know what to say to help. Then I started reading Job.

Here is what I came away with that I have shared with my best friend:

Job was tested not because God didn't love him but because God did love him. God knew that he was someone who could be tested and stand strong. 

Sometimes, we think that we go through things because of our sins or because God is trying to punish us for something we aren't aware of. People lose property and loved ones and their health. Some of us use such a tragedy as an excuse to turn against or blame God. 

What Job taught me is that we have to stand strong. If our faith can be broken by sorrow and tragedy, we never had true faith, in my opinion. If we say that God is faithful and loves us - He is and He does -then we have to trust in Him no matter what life, the world, storms, car accidents, illness, etcetera throws at us. 

Reading Job reminded me that we live in a world run by darkness. We spent a short time here but we will have eternity with the Lord.

So, I thought about my sister who lost loved ones, homes, personal independence, and her health - but never, ever lost her faith in God. There were times when she had to remind me how much God loves me. I remember when she lost her first leg, the hospital arranged for home visits from a chaplain to counsel and encourage her. Listen, my sister ended up being the one encouraging the chaplain! I kid you not.

Once, when I first got diagnosed with sarcoidosis and was warped out of my mind on high doses of prednisone, I got really depressed and mean. My sister would remind me that I was at least living in a time when there are medicines and treatments for my condition. She even made me laugh about how crazy the "predni-devil" pills made me. And all this is while she was a double amputee with kidney failure and a heart problem. Not long after that, she developed Triple Negative Breast Cancer and her nurses and doctors looked forward to seeing her because of her smile and positive attitude. She knew she was going to die but she was not afraid of anything but not being there for the rest of us.

So, consider God's servant, Job. Amen? Absolutely. When you get discouraged and depressed and sick and put to grief - consider Job and remember his faithfulness. Remember that God loves us just as He loved Job.

I just wanted to share that with you all.

Peace

--Free

P.S.: This is a song that I love to listen to when I feel the news and the lockdown getting to me