Finding Peace

Do you believe that better days are coming?

"See, God will not reject a blameless person, nor take the hand of evildoers.  He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouts of joy.  Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more." - Job 8:20-22

In today's Old Testament reading, Job's friend Bildad is trying to convince him that the worst is over.  Accept what has happened as justified, whether you understand it or not, and move on.

Deep down, perhaps Job agrees, or at least understands the point of view of his friend.  Job knew his children were living their lives without fearing or worshipping God, so their destruction could have been justified, since the people of God at the time believed that is the way God worked.

But Job has a problem with that, and so do we.

He cannot begin to have faith in the future while he searches for deeper understanding of why God chose him to be an example of faith.  He wouldn't have wanted to be used that way only to be restored and returned to health later.

He doesn't care about the better days ahead.  He dwells on the bad days behind him.

We do that sometimes, dwell on the past.  In an odd way, there is comfort in it.  We can live for a long time in our misery and the longer we do, the harder it is to come out of it.

We can claim that we need closure and we demand justice, but deep down, we really just don't want to move on.  We know we cannot return to the past, and we fear living in the future with the loss we experienced, so we stop, we freeze.

Capturing loved ones on video shortly after learning of the death of a child or sibling is something the media love to do.  They want us to feel what the parent feels, and to react emotionally.  No one would dare say what Bildad is saying.  Don't think about this; it will get better and you will laugh again.

We no longer believe that everything that happens to us is God's will.  In a way, that is good, because it allows us to have a good relationship with God, but we still tend to blame God, don't we?

So, how do we deal with pain and suffering, with loss and injustice?

The story of Job reminds us that our friends and family may not have the answers.  They mean well, and they may want us to work through the pain, but they have no way of knowing what we are going through.  Only God knows.

Job waited on God for answers, and when God finally spoke, he reprimanded Job for staying stuck, for looking for blame, for thinking he could understand God in a way only God can.

So, we need to seek God's help when bad things happen, and we also need to be open to hearing God's messages in our pain and solitude.  What is He trying to say to us in our grief?  How is He consoling and supporting us?  Where is He leading us?

We can march in the streets seeking justice and we can rally friends and strangers to support us, but it is only through God that we will find peace.  Of course, that may be the last thing we want.

More to come...