So, this post is brought to you by a headache. That's right. The only reason that I'm writing this particular blog post is because of a surprise headache that appeared at 6:30pm. I don't know where it came from, but it happened.
So, I decided that the best way for me to get rid of this headache was the read the Bible. It was either that or spray some Windex on my head (Ba dump ba). After flipping around Isaiah and Psalms a bit, I found myself at the beginning of Job, and decided to start reading.
For those unfamiliar with the story of Job; he was a innocent and God-fearing man who was blessed with 7 sons, 3 daughters and a massive amount of crops and livestock. He was a happy guy, and never said sinned against God. So, one day Satan comes to God and God showed Satan how great of a guy Job was, and Satan said that the only reason Job was so happy was that he was so prosperous. So Satan bet God that if Job suddenly lost all of his stuff, he would curse God. God agreed to the wager, and began to take away Job's stuff. First his animals, then his crops and finally his kids. Obviously, Job was upset, but he never cursed God once. So Satan went back to God and made another bet that Job would curse God if Job no longer had his health (This might have been the phrase "At least he still has his health" comes from....maybe) So Job gets covered in terrible boils, but still won't curse God. Even Job's wife and friends say that he should curse God, but Job doesn't listen to them, rather, he tries to get their sins forgiven. In the end, God proved His point, and Job got all his stuff back (times 2) and lived a very long happy life.
That's Job in a nutshell. If you want to read the entire book, it's super short.
So, when i finished this book (truth be told, I skipped some pages) I was thinking about my life. Job literally had everything taken away from him and he didn't blame God once. There are so many times that something has gone wrong in my life and one of the first things I do is ask "God, why is this happening?" or "God, how could you let this happen?" I make it sound like it is God's fault that I'm having problems, and I forget about all the good stuff He's done for me. It's pretty sad when I think about it.
Now, the same day that I had the headache, I had to run a bunch of errands that I really didn't want to run. I had to drop off and pick up kids, get groceries, go back and get more groceries after my parents forgot something, and fill up the car because my brother left it on empty for the second day in a row. If they had just given me everything to do in one big trip, I wouldn't have minded, but I would get home, sit down and then have to go and run another errand. So, I was pretty ticked. For the last couple of these trips I just kept thinking dumb things like "This is ruining my day (even though it was like 8 pm)". There were a couple times during my trips where I had to take step back and tell myself that I was acting like an idiot. My headache was in full swing, so I was just focusing on getting home so I could read my Bible.
So, fast forward to me finishing the end of Job. I had finished that last sentence and immediately thought to myself, How did Job do it? How was Job able to go through all those hardships without being mad at God?
Well, as I've mentioned in previous posts my priorities are not always in order, so unfortunately God is not always #1 in my life. Especially when bad things are happening, its hard not to turn to God without being angry or upset. That's what makes Job different though. God was #1 in Job's mind, so even when things got bad, God was still good in the mind of Job. When I forget sometimes is that God is good (all the time). He loves us and only wants the best for us. He's not going make us suffer unnecessarily. God knew that Job would be faithful to Him and planned to reward Job after He won his bet with Satan.
Also, Job seems like a really humble guy. I mean, he lost everything and was more concerned about the people around him than his own troubles. As many of us know, it is difficult to see the problems of those around us when we are suffering. Suddenly it all becomes about us. Taking inspiration from Uncle Iroh (Avatar: The Last Airbender) "Sometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else" All those times that I was running errands, I was doing it for someone else; my parents or my siblings. I should have been glad to help them, especially since I hadn't really done anything all day anyways. I love doing things for others, especially for those I care about. I honestly need to remember that more often.
I hoping to start a new section of this blog called Bible Badasses; and while reflecting on Job, I realized that Job is a total badass. He didn't do amazing works or help bring people to God, he was just faithful and never sinned against God. Honestly, that makes him more BA than some of the Apostles who weren't always the most faithful bunch. I hope that I can learn from Job and always love the Lord, and always remember all the good He has done even during the hard times, because those are when we need Him the most.
Peace and Love
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