Live like Job

A vision farther than the eye can see is sometimes critical when faced with circumstances that first appear to be nothing less than agonizing & unfortunate from all angles, no matter which way you slice it. I have been slowly coming into this experiential realization as situations arise. I approach the proverbial fork in the road, leaving me with a sometimes difficult decision of either selfishly sulking in my own misfortune, or working my way down the narrow, difficult, selfless, God-glorifying path of worshiping Him in the midst of my own circumstance. It is this act of raw, emotional, sacrificial worship that is so beautiful to the Lord.

Yesterday, I was reading the book of Job & the end of chapter 1 blew me away. He truly was a man abandoned to the Lord. Now, a little context to this chapter exposes Job to be a very wealthy man:

"¹There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. ²There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. ³He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east." - Job 1: 1-3 ESV

Job didn't seem to be in a position of having to heavily rely upon the Lord to provide for his needs or come through with a miracle, but where he has anchored himself was quickly & beautifully revealed in the midst of personal disaster..


^"13Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴and there came a messenger to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, ¹⁵and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you." ¹⁶While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you." ¹⁷While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you." ¹⁸While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

²⁰Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. ²¹And he said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

²²In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong." - Job 1:13-22 ESV

As I read through the passage, verse 20 jumped out at me like a man in costume at a haunted house. "..He fell on the ground and worshiped.." In the midst of suffering, he praised the Lord. I couldn't believe such a beautiful (and perfect) response could come from someone in such a broken state. I have read the book of Job before. I already knew his story, but awakening myself to the detailed account of his life, even in this first chapter, was like opening a treasure chest I had dismissed all this time. More beautiful than gold & jewels however, is Job's life adorned with the beauty of a broken & contrite heart, fully positioned at worshiping his King in the midst of his own suffering..

Job doesn't belittle his weakness, but he allows the Lord to overshadow it. He possesses a vision farther than the eye can see & he sees straight into heaven, mimicking the activity of throne room worship. And it is here that I think once again of how it is bondage to live according to my circumstance. It's a lie to say that my Father is anything less than good. Who am I to define the Lord's goodness based upon my own unfortunate occurrences? If I were to wake up tomorrow with my life ripped apart beyond repair & a shadow of death hovering hungrily over me, then regardless of my circumstance, "blessed be the name of the Lord."