Gay N. Lewis

 

I recently taught the Book of Job from the Old Testament. I didn’t want to teach it, but it was scheduled. I suggested to my class that we study another book, something simple, like Hebrews, but  unfortunately, they wanted old Job and his troubles.

Of Course, I jest. If you’ve studied Hebrews, you know it’s not simple. Good, but it’s complicated. Job is rather complicated, too.

I’m in a dark place in my own life. The last thing I needed  was to add sadness through my Bible studies, but I plunged into it. Wow! Talk about suffering. That poor guy got major whammies. Our situations may not be as dramatic as his, but they are as intense to US! Can you visualize the five-year-old who was abandoned at the Texas border? He doesn’t understand the language, why he’s there, and he wants his mother.  Is it possible to identify with the one vanishing with cancer? How about the family losing income and home? Or the sorrow of supporting the dying child?

 Job asked questions, but God didn’t answer them. Instead, He interrogated Job! When He finished with His suffering servant, God told Job’s friends, “I’m mad at you.”  Oops! Scary! When we give advice to friends, let us remember it might not meet God’s approval.

 Before the whammies, Job was the one of the richest men on earth. He lived the good life. After the whammies, the poor man tried to understand what he’d done to deserve the sorrow. Job came to realize He should love the Lord for who He is and not the blessings and gifts He gives.

 Thanks Job. I’m sorry you went through all that, but the lesson God taught you blessed me.