Job 19:1-7,14-27 (NRSV)
How do we respond when we find ourselves in a crisis situation outside of our control? How do we “fix” what cannot be changed? How do we make things better when we are unable to stop that which is making them worse? We find ourselves crying out in despair, “Lord, have mercy!” We have no other place to go, no one else who can make things right.
What happens when the One to whom we turn seems to be the One who is causing us the pain? We hear from friends and strangers “If only…” If only you had more faith. If only you prayed a bit harder. If only you had been faithful. As if God singled you out from among all of the humans walking the earth to be deserving of the suffering you are experiencing at this moment.
We all fail. I often think of Paul’s statement: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one…” We may not choose to live in that failure, we may seek God immediately when we fall, but we all fall. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Thank you again, Paul, for this important reminder!). If our failure were the cause of suffering, then we all would find ourselves suffering. If repentance were the solution to suffering, then all of us who have repented would find ourselves free from trouble.
Sometimes bad stuff happens.
The power of the story of Job lies in the power of what we don’t know, what we don’t control. We are reminded that our circumstances may not be determined by our righteousness. (Remember, we are discussing our circumstances rather than the consequences we all suffer as the result of our less than perfect choices.)
Yet in the midst of Job’s suffering, in the midst of all that he did NOT understand, Job makes this incredible statement:
“O that my words were written down! O that they were inscribed in a book! O that with an iron pen and with lead they were engraved on a rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!” (Job 19:23-27)
Job didn’t understand why. In fact, nothing in the book of Job indicates he was ever given a reason. Job didn’t like his circumstance. He knew it wasn’t fair. Yet in the midst of the suffering, the confusion, the misguided messages of his friends, Job knew God. He knew that God was His Redeemer. He didn’t know how it would all work out. He didn’t receive renewal and strength from His statement of faith. He just knew the truth, even in the midst of his suffering.
I think we do too. I think often we forget, we set it aside, we moan and groan and look for solutions. But at the end of the day – at the end of our words and resources – we recognize that God is our Redeemer. If we need a way out, He will be that way. We have nothing more.
May you and I remember today that God is our Redeemer, that He lives, and that – no matter what circumstances we may encounter – He will stand.