“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him” (Job 13:15, NIV 1984). In the midst of his Job’s suffering, his surprisingly gracious words ring out with utmost confidence. Having lost his sons and daughters, all his worldly possessions, and circumstances that led to his health deteriorating to the point of producing boils all over his body, Job exclaimed his faith in God from his core despite his horrid circumstances. Often times, life does not seem fair but so strong was his resolution and trust in God, that he simply knew that in time he would be vindicated.
We all live lives full of various difficulties. Many of us often feel trapped in our own world with our pains, unable to escape them. We feel imprisoned. We feel like the “free people” would never understand what we are going through. We look inwardly and seek answers inside ourselves. Yet, most of the time answers are elusive. We ask ourselves ‘why?’ when we often just want the pain and suffering to stop. And one must wonder if this was what Job was thinking as well. Yet, what separates Job from the way most of us sometimes deal with our worldly problems is that he instead looked outward to the heavens. He knew where he stood with God, and though he was in great torment, he knew his Redeemer was always there. When handed the mystery of his circumstances Job found his only comfort in the knowledge that God was there no matter the circumstance.
This is precisely how we should all approach life. We know God is there; we’ve come to that conclusion because we’ve allowed His truth to seek us out. We’ve humbled ourselves not only under His judgment but also under His love and compassion. Some may have accepted His truth merely on an intellectual basis, but we need to respond to that truth by the heart as well. Oh, my inscrutable God, what are your purposes? Why allow your children such perils? Sometimes to us, His means may seem unfair and we are unable to see any redeeming qualities in the things we go through. Sooner or later our philosophies are sure to fall short in helping us understand God’s true intentions. For when intellectual reasons fail to give us reason to trust God in the midst of our darkest battles with the world, the heart will need to rise and remember that we have already been given a love so deep and seen a grace so wide that surpasses all human comprehension.
In what challenges or difficulties has God been faithful in your life, and how have you dealt with those hardships?
