The Book of Job ~ Day 3 of 3

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Pray | Lord, may I turn to you, your Word, your Truth, and your promises when I am confused.

I JUST NEED TO TALK TO GOD

As we read through Job we see that he holds on to what he knows is true, he has done no wrong. After the ongoing, sometimes long winded (hello Elihu), monologues of friends, Job really just wants to talk to God. He wants to hear what God has to say, he begs to plead his case directly to the Judge, while also realizing God’s wisdom is so profound that Job couldn’t actually dispute him, but what he could do is plead for mercy. The wisdom in Job is this – I just need to talk to God. After loss, grief, pain, standing in integrity, then questioning, blaming, shaming and careless words, I love how chapter 38 begins, “Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm.” For what a storm it had been.

Read |  Job 38-42

Reflect | 

God gives this tour of the universe, asking if Job was there at the earth’s foundation, asking if he had given orders to the morning, entered the storehouses of snow, and on and on. God speaks in incredible detail about land, sea, animals, birth and more, showing Job (and us) It’s just not all about you. When God says to Job – Ok you do it, you run this universe, unleash your fury, crush the wicked where they stand, it creates a moment of deep humbling. I can’t think of one person who would truly believe they could run the universe; some of us might think we could run our universe, but given that power we’d see that so many other people and events are tied to ours that it would be beyond overwhelming to our eyes, hearts and minds and we would immediately realize our limitations.

The Bible Project’s podcast on Job points out God is displaying that the world is in order, but there can still be suffering because in many ways “it’s still got wild in it, and it’s still dangerous.” Not to mention the free will part and also the evil that exists. In the end Job’s response boils down to, I thought I knew, but now I know I don’t. I thought too highly of my abilities to understand how things work, and his mind, heart and posture changed.  I love when God points out that Job did speak this truth – he didn’t deserve what happened to him, it wasn’t anything he did.

We are so very intelligent, sending rockets to space – for science and now even for pleasure. We have learned incredible secrets of the universe, and can do more and know more than ever before, and what we don’t know we Google! We want to know and understand everything, and when we don’t, when things just don’t make any sense, when it seems there cannot be sense made of some things, what do we do? Do we write off God? Do we silently tell him, If I don’t see any good in this then you’re not good? Do we possibly want a God we are equal to?

Our true best hope in dark and confusing times is in humility before God. I don’t get this, it makes no sense, I am sure this grieves even your heart Lord. but I trust you still. To some this will make no sense, you have to know God to trust him. Understanding God’s character and deep love is a path to trusting him; and the truth is we can’t humble ourselves before someone we don’t trust.

Do you know and trust God? Where does your mind tend to go when you can’t make sense of things or events? When it seems God isn’t intervening, do you trust him still? What storm do you need God to speak out of?

The Book of Job ~ Day 2 of 3

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Pray | Lord, you are good and trustworthy; by your Holy Spirit, help me to believe that when I’m confused by the difficult and tragic things of this world.

BUT IS HE REALLY RIGHTEOUS?

In the book of Job, in a counsel meeting of sorts, Satan tells God that Job, a man the Lord Himself called blameless and upright, is only that way because God has blessed him over and over, of course Job is a good man because he’s rewarded for it. And so begins the loss, suffering and responses of this man of integrity, this man who fears God and shuns evil.

Read |  Job 1 – 2

Reflect | 
In the Bible Project Podcast’s on Job they submit that the question of Job is “If God is just shouldn’t the world always be run by the principle of just compensation?” They surmise that what Satan might be saying to God is that if righteous people are always rewarded doesn’t that have potential to corrupt their righteousness? Will we maintain a posture of righteousness if, or really when, we suffer?

This question has had my mind busy this week; suddenly the book of Job wasn’t just about this man who was experiencing unexpected tragedy, but about me and my beliefs, which I now realize might sometimes fall under the just compensation theory. How many times has my heart whispered up to God, But they’re such good people, please, please fix this. Is it possible some of us accidentally, maybe sometimes believe that because God is good and just that he would, or even should, make sure that good begets good?

When situations don’t seem fair, that is a critical time to lean into God, to ask ourselves if we really believe and trust God. Could we pause to acknowledge I’m feeling like this seems not okay from my vantage point, but then also consider and trust that it has passed through the hands of God, taking in that his complexity and perspective is so much wider and deeper than ours – much more than our brains can even conceive. And that sometimes things and people grieve even his heart too.

In the podcast when speaking of our own limitations, they mention that dogs can’t learn algebra. In talking this through with my daughter Erin, she added, “And dogs don’t need to know algebra. We’re like that too, we don’t need to know everything; that to know everything is actually beyond our brains and capacity.” This is wisdom, to know we can’t know it all . . . but we can know the One who does.

Can you think of a situation where you maybe believed that good begets good? When was the last time you were confused by a suffering that hit you or someone you love? How did you, or do you, manage your confusion when that happens?

Feel free to comment, we can all learn from each other.

Written originally for Five Oaks Church Daily Life Devotional

Not Feeling It

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Have you ever been in a season of just not feeling your relationship with God? One where you don’t really want to read the bible, and prayer feels a little empty, kind of bland? I believe most of us have from time to time walked in what feels like a spiritual dry land. I’ve been there for a minute, and I have to say, it’s not a great feeling.

I hear my own voice telling others, “God is not a feeling”, which is true, so I open the bible and read. I open my daily devotions and read. I open my prayer journal and let what seems like limited words, and even less emotion, fall on the pages.

In describing this funk to a friend she said something along the lines of doing it to check the box, which I instantly knew in my soul wasn’t true. I’m reading and praying not to check the box, but because I know this is good for my soul, even if it doesn’t feel it. I know the Word is true and has power to be life giving, correcting, soothing, encouraging and more. I pray because I believe it might matter that I pray, and I believe the Lord cares that I do, even maybe especially when I don’t feel it? Bottom line, I’m doing it because I don’t feel like doing it.

Another friend read Kneeling with Giants – Learning to Pray with History’s Best Teachers, more than once she spoke of how great it was, so I’m reading it on her recommendation. The book has chapters on spiritual mentors from church history like Benedict, Luther, Calvin and more, and offers different methods of prayer, such as the divine office, the Lord’s Prayer, healing prayer, Psalms and more. I’m only through chapter one, but I sense optimism and just may be on the cusp of freshness.

I’ve started with the divine office taken from the Common Book of Prayer (modeled from St Benedict). I’m praying old prayers that seem written for today, there are prayers for leaders, prisoners – justly and unjustly imprisoned, pastors, the aged and lonely, the hurting, conflicts and more. I’m singing along with hymns of old that are feeling right for now; there is a time of confession, scripture readings and more. In this prayer discipline there are four set times of day to pray, I’m currently committed to the morning one, and slightly committed to the noon one.

In chapter one, Praying with St Benedict – The Divine Office, there are two places I’ve underlined, on page 21 Gary Neal Hanson writes, “It (the divine office) stretches me to pray in a healthy range of ways. It renews my connection to deep and holy things. When times are hard, it can put my battered soul back together. I admit there are days when it feels like a ritual performed without conscious thought – though even that can help me. Whatever it feels like, it puts my day in a rhythm of prayer. As one of my students put it, Benedict envisioned a life of prayer with work interspersed, not the other way around.” And on page 34 he says,
“. . . but the more hours you pray and the longer you keep at it, the better chance you have of keeping all of life in perspective.” In my short time with this style of prayer I’m feeling both of those statements to be true. I’ve decided to hang out in this prayer style for awhile before I move on to chapter two, Praying with Martin Luther – The Lord’s Prayer.

In the meantime, it is written to be prepared in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2); I’ve been feeling out of season, but maybe this is where some of the work is done so that the in season will return.

If you find yourself interested in reading Kneeling with Giants and discussing it, comment on fb, instagram, this post, or email me at shericarlstrom@gmail.com and we’ll figure out a way to connect through a group zoom, email or maybe private fb group.

(I’m praying the Divine office through an app, Mission of St Clare – Praying the Daily Office, I just have to click the morning, noonday, evening or compline prayer, making it very simple.)