Worry or Worship? July 15, 2024

Lately life has felt like the story of Job. One thing after another, beat down, waiting for the next thing to go wrong. Job dealt with turmoil-losing everything in a day. I decided to look into Job’s reactions and try to find how to handle this time in my families life.There are a few things that really stuck out to me. God had confidence in Job, his character and response. We see that Satan accuses Job of not being true and genuine in his faith, but instead having more faith in his standing and blessings than he did in God. It makes me think of my own circumstances, and if Satan‘s accusations against me would be true; would God have that much confidence in me and the way I responded? Another thing I noticed in Job 1:12, and Job 2:6, God always made sure to keep an area of his life blessed/protected. Something he could hold onto in his time of struggle as a glimmer of hope and gratitude. God never left him completely high and dry, He still always had His hand in his life. I think it’s hard as readers of Job to notice that when you read chapter 1, verses 14 through 18, and see that one messenger couldn’t even finish giving the bad news before he was interrupted with  another messenger with more bad news. It’s amusing to me that even us as readers have a frustration towards what Job went through even though Job did not react the way most of us would. Verse 20-22 shows his reaction- “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” (NKJV). He also mentioned in Job 2:10 something that has honestly become a mantra of motivation for me in this time- “But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (NKJV). Again, I don’t think that would be my immediate reaction, mine would come from a much more selfish place, I know because I’ve had to check myself in my reactions to life plenty of times recently. My integrity has been challenged. People may know someone’s reputation, but integrity challenges who someone is when no one is looking, when it’s between you and the Lord. Even the Lord bragged on Job’s integrity in chapter 2 verse 3- “Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” (NKJV). 

It’s almost funny how much I relate to the things Job went through, even down to what I wrote on about miracles not feeling miraculous unless they look the way we except/want. God protected Job’s life, and demanded that Satan not take Job’s life. That same blessing became something Job cursed and asked to be taken in his time of turmoil. It’s easy to neglect and forsake our fear of the Lord. We get comfortable with God our father but throw reverence for his holy power out the window or vice-versa. We make excuses for our sins and find comfort from worldly things and reactions when life challenges us. Job’s struggle with that was evident in chapter 6 verse 14 and chapter 7 verses 11-14. 

In all of these takeaways, I ultimately was challenged to worship with fear of the Lord, and the comfort of the father. My circumstances don’t change the goodness of God. I can grieve, and feel, and still trust the Lord’s hand in all of this. I was telling my dad about what I was writing on and he said “it’s better to practice and prepare more than to stay in a pity-party”. It made me think, am I worrying more than worshipping? Even my dad was singing the song Goodness of God in the midst of his trials and often times pain. What a challenge, to look hardships in the eye and still proclaim God’s glory in action and speech. My dad always taught me the “no palms rule” in sports. I couldn’t throw my hands up at the ref or the coach and complain when my job was to just play, not to ref or coach. I need to treat God with that same level of respect and confidence. I need to throw my hands up in worship and reverence, not in complaint and questioning.