Job spoke, saying: Is not man’s life on
earth a drudgery? My days are swifter
than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is like the wind; I
shall not see happiness again. (Job 7:1–7)
As I read this
chapter in Job today, I couldn’t help but reflect on the last 11 months and how
COVID has affected everyone in some way, and not for the better. Job was clearly expressing feelings that we
all face at times. He speaks of a sleepless
night (been there). Feelings of a loss
of hope (done that). Months of misery (like
the whole world has been experiencing this year). Thanks be to God these feelings are not an
everyday occurrence. But they are real,
and everyone experiences them at times.
The key to
understanding this passage is to look at Job’s whole life. Even though he felt this way, it didn’t direct
his decisions. He didn’t give in to
ultimate despair; he didn’t give up; he persevered. And it paid off! He stayed faithful to God through his tragedy
of losing everything precious to him and never lost faith and hope in his
God. In his darkest hour, even his
friends came to him telling him he was being punished by God and that all was
lost for him. But he wouldn’t listen.
Remember
Job’s powerful words, “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away,
blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21). Job praised God for the good things he
received in life, but when they were taken away, he continued to bless and
praise God. This is the most central
lesson and inspiration of Job’s life. He
didn’t give in to the feelings he was having.
He didn’t let the despair he was tempted with deter him from praising
and worshiping God. He praised Him in
ALL things!
The tragedy
of Job took place for a reason; to teach us this essential lesson of dealing with
the heavy burdens that life can throw at us.
For those who carry heavy burdens, Job is a real inspiration, because
they can relate to him. They can relate
to his pain and learn from his perseverance in hope.
As we reflect upon the example of Job, we can let his life inspire us. If we’re finding a particular burden in life weighing us down, we can try to praise and worship God anyway. Give God the glory due His name simply because it is due His name and not because we do or do not feel like doing it. In this, we’ll find that our heavy burden leads to our strengthening. We will become more faithful by being faithful when it’s extremely difficult to do so. Job did it and so can we!
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