Skip to main content

“We think life is about our comfort and safety and happiness and health and security.”

A thought by Charles R. Swindall, from his book, What if…God Has Other Plans?: Finding Hope When Life Throws You the Unexpected (p. 34). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That is so easy for us to think, isn’t it?

Charles says, “Sadly, for many believers those things are what it’s all about. Nothing could be further from the truth. The book of Job, like no other book in the Bible, opens our eyes to an altogether different perspective.

“As Job suffered under the pain and shame of boils that covered his entire body, his wife urged this righteous man to curse God and resign to death (see Job 2:9).”

Charles goes on, “Incidentally, I urge caution against responding too harshly toward Job’s wife. She’s not Job; she’s Mrs. Job. She has a right to see her loss from another perspective. She offered the wrong counsel, and Job knew it was wrong. But this couple must have had the kind of relationship in which she felt free to speak honestly about her feelings. She wanted Job to find relief. From her perspective, he would be better off dead.

“Haven’t you said similar things about those who suffer and suffer and never find relief? Of course, we have all done so. But we must resist that sort of horizontal thinking—a perspective that focuses on the here and now and leaves God out of the equation. It helps no one.

“But please remember that Job’s wife had also lost ten children. For her, too, life had suddenly become unbearable. When you have opportunity to comfort one who has experienced such loss, it’s important to remember that we don’t know exactly the kind of pain someone else is experiencing. Guard against meaningless platitudes, empty clichés, and insensitive urgings to ‘just trust the Lord’ and ‘move on with your life.’ None of that helps, so don’t go there. During such extended periods of human suffering, it’s better to just offer your presence and an assurance of prayer. Resist preaching. Those who are suffering need compassion and tenderness.”

He then says, “In the face of it all, Job remained unmoved in his commitment to trust the Lord. Despite his wife’s urging, there was no thought of retaliation against God or of taking his own life. That’s because for Job, his life was not his own. Everything belonged to the Lord. His response to this series of devastating losses provides insight for all of us and helps answer the question for ourselves: What if we lose everything?”

And we need to have and to give compassion and tenderness and that commitment to trust the Lord in this time we are in, don’t we?

Yes, yes!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference.   You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...