Before and After
Today I had an interesting experience and a great opportunity to tour some oil and gas production sites. We toured both a drilling rig and a fracking site. It was very interesting and are great opportunity to learn more about the technology. I also got some good exercise walking around sites on my crutches. When I returned from the tour, I had a Chiropractor appointment which was probably good timing.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…Â I wish for the days when I was strong, when Godâs close friendship blessed my house…âNow my life is almost over; my days are full of suffering. At night my bones ache; gnawing pains never stop.…[Then] The Lord blessed the last part of Jobâs life even more than the first part….Job lived one hundred forty years. He lived to see his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. Job 29:2; 30:16,17; 42:12,16 NCV
In the first chapter of Job we read his words, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21 NIV) As we get near the end of the story of Job we see some specifics on what Job’s life was like.
Job in the midst of his misery longs for the days that were. He had been accused by his “comforters” of being self-centered and closed-fisted and arrogant. But that description does fit Job’s reflection on his, life, status and generosity.
Job recognizes the blessings of health and the blessing of knowing God. “…Godâs lamp shined on my head, and I walked through darkness by his light. I wish for the days when I was strong, when Godâs close friendship blessed my house.” (Job 29:3,4)
Job was respected and honored, “When the young men saw me, they would step aside, and the old men would stand up in respect. The leading men stopped speaking…The voices of the important men were quiet… Anyone who heard me spoke well of me…” (Job 29:8-11)
Job was kind and compassionate, “I saved the poor who called out and the orphan who had no one to help. The dying person blessed me, and I made the widowâs heart sing…” (Job 29:12,13)
Job was a man of justice, “I broke the fangs of evil people and snatched the captives from their teeth.” (Job 29:17)
People sought out Job’s advice and considered him a man of wisdom. His esteem among the people is summarized in his words, “I chose the way for them and was their leader. I lived like a king among his army, like a person who comforts sad people.” (Job. 29:25)
In short for Job, life was “good” and he thought it would never end and what was, would always be until he died. âI thought, âI will live for as many days as there are grains of sand, and I will die in my own house…New honors will come to me continually, and I will always have great strength.â” (Job 29:18,20)
That was then, but now…we see all of that changed faster than Job or anyone else could realize. He lost wealth, family and health and longed for death in the midst of his suffering. He also lost his status in the community, “But now those who are younger than I make fun of me. I would not have even let their fathers sit with my sheep dogs… Now they make fun of me with songs; my name is a joke among them. They hate me and stay far away from me,
but they do not mind spitting in my face.” (Job 30:1,9-10)
I politics, people say, “it is amazing how fast you can go from being a ‘whose who’ to a ‘who’s that'” So we see that all that Job had going for him from wealth, family, status in the community, was all taken away, including his thoughts about God. âI cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you just look at me. You have turned on me without mercy; with your powerful hand you attacked me. You snatched me up and threw me into the wind and tossed me about in the storm. I know you will bring me down to death, to the place where all living people must go.” (Job 30:20-23)
Job through his suffering learned more about God than had known before. It believe that has certainly been my experience and I trust the experience of all who travel through times of difficulty and deep challenges in life. It is easy to feel comfortable with the “blessings of God” that have come our way and what we possess and what we have achieved. It is like the saying, “This is what I learned about life after I knew it all.” Job could say, “This is what I learned about God when I thought I knew everything I needed to know.”
What he learned was that his perception of God and his suffering was not accurate. God did not have death in store for Job but life. God did not have a diminished status in life for Job, but for restoration beyond what he had known and experienced.
Job was suffering and felt God-forsaken and was ready to give up on life. That was then, but now...we see God restoring Job’s health, wealth and family to a greater extent than what he had before. Job’s life was not cut short but ended up being a long and prosperous life.
In our lives and in our situations we can be quick to settle for what is in the present as if that is all there will be. We can suffer loss of family, status, health or wealth and believe it is “all over.” But find with God, as one baseball great put it, “it ain’t over till it’s over.” Don’t make hasty conclusions about your life, past or future or God. Be patient, trusting and faithful. And as the Apostle James commented about Job, “…You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.“ (James 5:11 NLT)