Blessed Be Your Name
Originally Posted Friday, October 10, 2008
If you're familiar with the story of Job in the Bible book named for him, and if you're a thinker - or shall I say, over-thinker - like I am, this story is really quite perplexing. I mean, here's this guy Job that loves God, hates evil, and does his very best to make sure his heart and the lives of his family are right before God. One day, Satan, who's been busy scoping out the scene on earth "seeking whom he may devour," stops to check in with God. So God starts talking up one of His worshippers, Job, and Satan challenges that Job wouldn't be such a big fan of God's if he didn't live such a "cushy" existence with all kinds of favor from God on his life. Subsequently, (I love it when I get to use that lovely transitional word), God agrees to let Satan pursue this theory by bringing all kinds of painful circumstances into Job's life to test his loyalty.
First of all, that plan sounds really crazy to me; I mean, it seems like God and Satan are playing a game, using unsuspecting people as their game pieces. I have literally questioned God personally about this whole deal. I've asked him if he was "playing games" with me like that, just to see what I would do. I don't know if I'm the only one, but there have been long spans of time in my life when I felt like Satan and God were doing the "Job challenge" on me! You may recall how in the first chapter of Job when the "series of unfortunate events" starts to unfold in Job's life, some guy would come running in to give Job the gory details and would always end his story with, "I am the only one who has escaped to tell you." Just as the tragedy was beginning to sink into Job's mind, "While he was still speaking, another messenger came" to break the news of yet another horrible event.
Is it just me, or have you lived this exact scenario? You're in the midst of dealing with a major challenge in your life when another one starts to unfold...and another...and another. If you're like me, you inevitably ask God, "What else could possibly go wrong? I cannot take any more!" 2008 has been a Job year so far in our family, especially in regard to my health. It's got to be some kind of record how many different things have gone wrong with my body. And I find myself asking my husband, asking my family and friends, asking myself, asking God: "What else? When's it gonna stop? What have I done to deserve this? How much more can one person take?" And believe me, people have all kinds of answers to share with you. Everybody puts their 2 cents in. If it's not the old, "it could always be worse; be thankful you're not really going through something bad like so-and-so," then it's the ever-annoying "God never gives us more than we can handle," or "all things work together for good..." and "He must be preparing you for something greater."
The truth is, nobody knows the answer. God bless their little hearts for having the intention to say the right thing that they think you need to hear. Job's friends were more than willing to share their wisdom too. They felt confident that Job must've committed some sin that he was being punished for or needed to learn some great lesson before God would lift this curse from him. I've heard it all before. I still don't understand. But I do know that God was right about Job. And Job knew just what to do: "he fell to the ground in worship and said...'the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.'"
May His praise always be on my lips whether in joy and victory or in pain and suffering. Blessed be His glorious name
