We all know Job had his share of troubles. In fact, he had more troubles than any of us would ever care to deal with. He lost his friends, his family, his livelihood and his health. He lost his position in the community and a sense that he understood what God wanted from him. He lived a pretty nice life, until he didn’t. The thing about Job though is that he was determined not to blame God for the craziness he was experiencing. He made up his mind that no matter what, he would still believe that God could see him, and that God would ultimately take care of him. Two things come to mind for me about this.
One is that I don’t want the Job test. I’m pretty sure I would fail it. I would exhaust my list of those I could blame, including myself, the government, my boss, or whoever else, and finally come up with the idea that God must have done these terrible things to me. I would have thought that, but I would have been wrong. As much as it grieves me to admit this, I realize one other important thing. I think God had great faith in Job, even if Job was sometimes at a loss about his faith in God.
So, here’s my question. When I look at life today, it appears that everyone I know has felt a sense of loss. We’ve lost people we love, we’ve lost jobs and a sense of security, and we’ve lost our independence, our abilities to come and go, travel at leisure, do what we want any time we want to. We wear masks and feel restricted. We question whether it’s safe to go to church or to the grocery store. We do everything online from shopping to chatting with our families. Where is God?
Here’s my thought. God believes in you and in me so much, He trusts us. He trusts our faithfulness to get through the things that dampen our spirits. He trusts us to keep looking for His hand at work, and to recognize that He is still there, still working through people’s hearts and minds, and still making plans for our good. You are not invisible! God sees you!
He only wants one thing. He wants you to see Him. He wants you to remember who you are as a child of God. He wants you to lean in and pray and laugh and sing because He still holds the future in His hands.
Can you see Him?
Blessings to you today.