Where Do We Go From Here?
1 Then Job answered the LORD: 2 "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." 10 And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. (Job 42:1-3,10-11)
In the initial conversation between the Satan - or the accuser - and God, the accuser charged that Job would surely curse God if his blessed lifestyle was taken from him. But once Job got the audience with God that he sought, Job's response was neither anger nor despondency, but humility. Job realized the inadequacy of his perspective and proclaimed the sovereignty of God. Freed of his need to attempt to protect and defend himself, Job was then able to pray for his well-meaning, but misinformed, friends. The text says that God gave Job double what he had before and all of his loved ones blessed him with their presence and with gifts.
It's tempting to read this passage as an everything-will-work-out lesson, but we know from life experience that everything doesn't always work out so neatly. Life is messy. What we do learn is that, even in Job's lowest moments, he was not alone. Job's friends may have spoken out of ignorance, but they didn't abandon him; his wife - likely pained to see her husband suffering - also spoke amiss, but stayed; and a plethora of siblings and loved ones were waiting on the fringes for the right time to surround him and be a part of his restoration. And then there's God. God abides here in the discomfiting position of having allowed tragedy to ravage Job's life, and for what purpose? Not to show that Job could take it, but perhaps to show that God continually made provision and would not let Job go no matter what the ill-intentioned accuser could muster. It's an uneasy resolution, to be sure, but there is encouragement to found.
If we find ourselves in the role of well-meaning loved ones, we can be reminded to share what we can with those who are hurting - even if we just share our presence. If we find ourselves in Job's shoes, we can be reminded to look up and look out beyond our circumstances to see the blessings that surround us. They may not repair all of the damage that grief and loss have left in their wake, but they can plant flowers in the holes. And we can all find peace in the God who never stops providing, never leaves us alone - we can fall into the arms of the
One who will not let us go.
1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." 3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced. 4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb. 5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. 6 Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves. (Psalm 126)
