If you thought you were having a bad day...

"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" Job 19:25-27


        Today marks the one month anniversary of my father's death.  I have been pretty well caught up in feeling it.   I was numbing myself out for the first two weeks but then it set in and I felt like someone had ripped out my heart.  I was pretty surprised by how much it hurt, especially as my dad and I had not been that close.  But this morning the voice of God just kind of said to me "If you thought YOU were having a bad day, try looking at Job."  I have been caught up in my own grief and haven't wanted to join the rest of the world as life moves on...  but I listened to God and took a look at the book of Job.   A good look.   Job really had it bad... He lost so much more than I did... And boy did he suffer....   God allowed Job to suffer...  God did not cause the pain, but He allowed Job to feel it.  And He used it to teach Job and his friends a thing or two...


      A key thing to note is that Job felt the pain.   He had to work through it.  He never blamed God.  Was he angry and frustrated about the pain.  Yes. Of course he was.  But he never felt it was a punishment for any wrongdoing.   He trusted that God would get him through it...  Remember that doesn't mean he liked it.  It means he knew he would get through it with Gods help.  He knew that God was the answer.  


      I think that the verses I quoted above are really the key to the book of Job.  He knew that in the end he would be with God and all would be well.  He knew that was the goal.  To be with God for eternity.  I can't help but think that when Job says that his Redeemer lives and will stand upon the earth in the end - he is talking about Jesus.   I think that was pretty amazing all things considered.  It's like God gave Job a prophetic vision to see how it will be so that he could use that to keep the faith that his savior would redeem him. 


     Job did not have a church, Jesus had not yet even been born.  He was surrounded by a people who did not have the same feelings about God that he did.  From reading this book it appears that Job had a personal relationship with God and he trusted that God was there for him.  Even though it didn't look like it on the surface.   


     What can you and I take from this lesson.   Well lets see...   1. We are going to feel pain.    2. It is ok to feel the pain.   3. God is with us.   4. God will allow us to suffer.  5. The pain WILL eventually end, even if it doesn't seem like it.  6. Often God will use that pain and suffering to teach us some type of life lesson.   7.  We need to keep our eyes on God.   It's got to make you wonder...


     Dear Lord, please help us to keep our eyes on you when everything seems to be falling apart around us.  Remind us that you are there even though we feel so alone.  And please help us to fill the hole in the area where our heart used to be.  And please, please, please when the pain seems so unbearable, remind us that it will eventually end.  So that we can keep on keeping on... Thanks...