“You have granted me life and steadfast love, and Your care has preserved my spirit.” – Job 10:12 {ESV}
A suffering man wrote those words. Somehow through the suffocating thicket of circumstantial thorns which closed in upon Job, he managed to breathe out a statement of faith-filled facts to the God who was sovereign over his difficulties. His body was covered in tormenting sores while his heart was broken over the loss of his children. His mind was crushed under the weight of the death of his business and material sustenance. Job’s own wife has not been able to handle the despair which found her grieving soul and she tempted her husband to turn his back on God and prepare for death. A lesser saint would not have made it as far as Brother Job through the circumstantial cruelty which had found him. By God’s empowering grace he would not renounce his steadfast trust in the God of his bewilderment.
When the walls are closing in on you, how do you respond?
I’m a fighter and I tend to assume that I will eventually get on top of whatever is threatening to undo me. Long battles don’t intimidate me and there’s enough optimism in me that I can usually convince myself of a victorious outcome. Unfortunately, sometimes I approach challenges in a hybrid from of faith/pride which does me disservice in the end. There are also others of you who get defeated at the very first appearance of trouble on the radar; frustration, fear, resentment and desperation rise up in your heart like a freed helium balloon. You become a spiritual amnesiac and fail to remember that what is above your head is beneath His feet. Whether you are tempted to belligerently battle or faithlessly fear…we can learn a little from the ancient saint with a funny name. Job focused on what he DID know in the midst of so much that he didn’t know.
“You have granted me life…”
This suffering pilgrim remembered Who authored his physical life. He reminded himself that the One who gave it to him would, one day, remove it from him. His days were ordained and nothing that Job did would alter that. He was invincible until God was done with him. Once God was done with him, he was powerless to forbid his exit from earth. There’s a touch of praise and gratitude in his words as he likely remembered that the vast majority of his days had been greatly blessed. Yes, he was in a horrific valley at this time, but it had not always been so. I wonder if he experienced a surge of momentary faith that allowed him to see relief would be on its way.God had granted Job life…and this saint would not forget that gift.
“You have granted me…steadfast love…”
The merciful, sustaining love from God was the only cushion this afflicted man could find. Circumstances had snarled at him, bearing sharp teeth. Friends and family had failed him with unholy and arrogant counsel. He likely wished that he had lost his hearing when everything coming into his ears assaulted his faith and character. Yet God’s Spirit spoke reassurance to the man. God would not abandon Job. His heart galvanized around the truth that what had been his assurance up to this point would remain as the bedrock of his faith in days to come. He refused to doubt the goodness of God and rested in His personal love from on high.
“Your care has preserved my spirit.”
What a rich statement of a battling believer! Job’s body was in agony…yet his spirit was being strengthened. His lifestyle had been destroyed…but his spirit was amassing treasure. His marriage had taken a severe blow…but not his spirit. His children were now buried…but not his spirit. His friends appeared to him as accusers…but his spirit was intact and focused with laser-like precision on the righteousness of his God. Job was experiencing the truth that King Solomon would later write in Proverbs 18:14 – “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” His truest essence, the depth of who Job was…had not suffered damage during this trial. God’s care preserved Job’s spirit.
Reality check: We may lose it all someday here on planet earth.
We have no right to presume immunity from calamity. Our personal address may be next on the list of Trouble’s clipboard. Please remember with me, however, that your spirit has immunity. Christ has sequestered that for Himself and will preserve it through any temporal onslaught which finds you. Our bodies, families, friends and material possessions cannot remain as they are forever. Our spirits are eternal and nestled safely in the care of Job’s great God. An oft-forgotten promise of God is that His children will undoubtedly stand victorious in the end. Don’t lose grip on that, friend.He’s bigger than temptation. His more enduring than the thing assaulting you. His courage can become yours if you will break in the appropriate manner. He could never forget about you, His little lamb. Endure…wait…believe.
That sound you hear is a sigh of relief from a blogger who needed some soul-comfort today.
Heard a good sermon last might on II Tim 1:12 … I know WHOM I have believed