Job 10:1-3:

"I loathe my life;I will give free utterance to my complaint;
   I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say to God, Do not condemn me;
   let me know why you contend against me.
Does it seem good to you to oppress,
   to despise the work of your hands
    and favor the designs of the wicked?”

The book of Job is kind the of go-to book for people in the midst of trials. But I think that Job presses on the major difficulty we all have underneath our trials: Why?

In the flesh, “just because” isn’t a satisfying answer. And some wager between God and the Devil seems even less settling. I think we would like to find comfort in understanding our plight. But I suspect that it’s an unreasonable request. As the book of Job affirms over and over again, God is not like us. He doesn’t think like us. He doesn’t operate like us. The difficulty we experience in this life is not something we’re probably going to get to understand. Maybe ever.

So, while the story of Job is often used to comfort the distressed, I think the Gospel, in all of its simplicity, should really go much farther in achieving that goal.

Normally Sunday is my day to post my reflections on my meditation verse for the previous week. Unfortunately this week I apparently didn’t select a verse that was as relevant to my current life happenings as I thought. I selected 1 Timothy 4:8, but as the week went on I found that it simply wasn’t where my heart was.

Consequently, I don’t really have much to write about that. However, in my daily reading, I came upon a short passage from Psalm 55 which I find that in times of struggle, I relate to strongly.

"My heart is in anguish within me;
   the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling come upon me,
   and horror overwhelms me.
And I say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
   I would fly away and be at rest;
yes, I would wander far away;
   I would lodge in the wilderness;
                         Selah"

In times of trouble, I find comfort in these words. Not only because it means that David, the man after God’s own heart, has shared my feelings. But more importantly because God inspired that David would write these words. In effect, God has said between these lines, "Be calm son, I understand. I am here."

I find precious peace in that.

what if there were less to life
than Life and love and sacrifice?
Just one concern to keep things right;
me, me, always, me!

But then again that’s how we live.
with "life" and "love" and lies.
Just one concern, though nothing thrives;
me, me, always, me.

But, truth be told it really is
worth it all, our lives to give.
Just One concern, the One who forgives–
me, me, always, me?

So soul remember, though the night is dark,
that the Son of God is the Ark.
Gathered therein, He secured his mark;
Free, free, always, free!

At church this morning, one of the pastors was wrapping up the service. We’d taken communion, so he was bringing attention back to remembering Christ’s sufferings. He said, “in the midst of our sufferings, we can tend to forget Christ’s sufferings.”

Ironic, because those are the times that it’s most critical for us to remember.

Perhaps it’s the weakness of our faith, or maybe it’s because the culture we live in doesn’t often serve us with truly great sufferings. The suffering most of us encounter is only enough to disrupt our faith, but not always enough to stir us to trust God. Of course, suffering is relative to the person experiencing it, the fact still remains: In an objective analysis, Americans don’t have to suffer much.

I suspect this is why our suffering sometimes fails to stir up our faith, wherein other people, in other places it does.

Just a thought. I wonder how we go about seeing that change?

The familiar verse, James 1:2-3, reads:

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

It’s hard to remember that for Christians, affliction is not God’s disfavor, but his favor. God changes, builds and refines us. One such way is through our trials and difficulties. It’s easy to see in retrospect, but difficult to embrace in the moment.

To that end I think, Thomas Watson wrote this:

“To know that nothing hurts the godly, is a matter of comfort; but to be assured that all things which fall out shall co-operate for their good, that their crosses shall be turned into blessings, that showers of affliction water the withering root of their grace and make it flourish more; this may fill their hearts with joy till they run over.”