Hello everyone!
Recently in one my of my college classes we had to read the Book of Job. For those of you who have
not heard of the Book of Job, or who have never read it, I'll give a brief synopsis.
The Book of Job starts out with Job, a man who is righteous in the sight of God, and never does
anything wrong. (Important to note that this does not imply that Job is perfect, but rather that he
genuinely strives to live a Godly life.) One day as God is talking to Satan, God mentions that Job is
such a wonderful person, and how he does everything for the favor of God. Satan, in response says to
God that the only reason that Job is like this is because he has everything he wants. After all, Job is a
rich man with a lot of animals and family. Satan says to God that if this was taken away from Job, Job
Job would curse God. God allows Satan to strip Job of everything he has, except his own life. So, in
the matter of a day, all of Job's children are killed; all of his animals are killed, and all that is left is
wife. Job even suffers from boils on his skin, which he had to scrape off with broken pieces of
pottery. Through all of this turmoil, Job does not once curse the name of God. There are points
where he questions his own existence, and curses himself, but never God. At the end of the story
after much debate back and forth between God and Job, God restores everything to Job that he had
before, even doubling his wealth and family.
That sounds like a pretty horrifying story, right? I mean, could you even imagine going through half
of the stuff that Job went through. It would make most people turn their backs on God, curse God and
walk away from him. However, Job takes another approach. You see, Job never did curse God. He
suffered greatly, but there was never a point where he turned his back on God.
In the darkest of days, it is really easy just to say "screw you God", and walk away from him. The
challenge is to seek God out in these times, not walk away.
The truth is, God sees us when we are hurting. He sees when we are going through something that
sometimes seems like too much to handle. It sucks, right? Of course it does! But God is right there!
The old saying is true: God only ever gives us as much as we can handle. A good friend once gave
me some advice in a hard time in my life, and it has proven true over and over again. "Everything
works out in the end. If hasn't worked out, it's not the end". I know that sounds abstract, and
unrealistic, but I can tell you from my own experiences that nothing I ever heard is more true than
those two sentences.
The moral of the story: In your times of trouble and pain, take a deep breath. Find yourself a quiet
place to sit and just listen to God. Some intimate time with YOUR creator is sometimes all you need
to make it through a rough patch. Other times, our friends are used to help us too! Don't push them
away! Find some Godly friends, and never let go of them. Ever. These are the people who will give
you the must help when you need it. Stay strong my brothers and sisters. Remember, it all works out
in the end. If it hasn't worked out, it's not the end!
