Day 200 - And Job fell down and Worshipped...

Today's Reading: Job 1-2 and Ps. 80

Now we begin the story of Job... a man that was perfect and upright in all his ways. So Satan taunts God. "He only serves You and honors You because You bless him.... because You protect him." "Okay," God says. "You have permission to remove the blessings, but don't hurt him..."

And so, one tragedy after another begins to fall upon Job and his family.

Something really struck me and jumped out to me in my reading this morning. It was Job's initial reaction to the pain, loss and suffering that came upon him.

Here's the passage that comes after Job has received all the horrible news, even that his children have been killed:

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and WORSHIPPED, and said, 'Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.' " (Job 1:20-21)

So this is the question that pricked my heart as I read this passage... When pain and suffering come, is our initial reaction to WORSHIP and bless the Lord? Or is to cry out in anger and questions, "Lord, how could You allow this to happen! How could a good God let this happen?"

Job's response reminds me of something similar I read about in Matthew 15:21-28. A Canaanite woman has come to Jesus desperately pleading for the healing of her daughter. Yet it doesn’t appear that Jesus is listening or cares. (When He finally does speak He says, the bread He has is not for her.) But does she walk away in discouragement? Does she curse His name? No, instead she falls at His feet in WORSHIP?

 Just like Job and the Canaanite woman, we too sometimes feel forsaken and forgotten and wonder why God isn’t answering our desperate prayers. Tragedy strikes and it seems He is silent. Life doesn’t make sense. But will we WORSHIP Him still? Will we praise Him still, believing that He is good, and that He works all things together for good in the end?

A couple days ago, our family lost a very dear friend... a young man we've known for years was killed in a tragic car accident just a few miles from his home. He had been happily married 14 months and had a three-month old daughter. Now his wife has been left to continue her life alone, and his baby daughter will never know her daddy. The news has been devastating for all of us... but most of all, I ache for the wife and daughter he left behind. In fact, I've struggled sleeping the last several nights praying, hurting, and thinking about the heartache that she must be going through. Yet, even in this time of suffering, God is sending comfort to this young mother and to each of us.

David often read specific passages from Scripture during church and this last weekend, one of the passages that he shared with his congregation was the following:

"A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation." (Ps. 68:5)

David would be killed in the tragic car accident the very next day. And yet without even realizing it, he was sharing comfort from the Scriptures that would be just what his family and friends would need and could look back and cling to as they coped with this terrible loss. Yes indeed: "God is a father to the fatherless, and He takes care of the widows."

I don't know why God allows beautiful love stories to be broken, why He allows loved ones to be lost in death when life has barely begun. But one thing I do know is that God is good, and He doesn't waste our tears or pain. Already I can see that there will be souls in the kingdom as a result of this tragedy. Our young friend was such a witness and already many have been convicted to seek God with fresh zeal as a result of David's testimony. Of course, that doesn't take away the pain… but as we cry, let us WORSHIP, for God still sits on the throne.

NOTE: Friends of the family have set up a Go-Fund me account to help David's wife Katie and baby Abigail as they move forward without their husband/father/provider. I'm encouraging those who can to GIVE something to help. Even if you don't know this family like we do, God sees each gift and you are laying up treasure in heaven! Your giving would mean the world to me and my family!

Support Katie and Abigail in their time of loss!

Tomorrow's Reading: Job 3-4 and Luke 14