“The shortness and difficulty of life”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Job 6:1; 7:1-21 (Forward, p. 30) CEV pp. 528, 529
Let’s face it: life was a living hell for Job. It was bad enough that he’d lost his family and his livelihood, but now his health as well. Life, as he presently knew it, was a continual misery. If there had been medical assisted suicide back then, he would have been first in line, for, to him, there was no reason to keep on living.
But instead, he takes his case to the Lord, to God. He pins the blame securely on God for making his life so miserable. On the one hand, he wishes that God would relent, even just for a moment, and not be quite so attentive, and then, on the other hand, he cries out for relief. I would suggest that such an ambivalence, such a dichotomy, in feelings is to be expected in such a dismal and hopeless situation.
Still, what I find incredible is that Job doesn’t give up on God, and that, furthermore, he is convinced that God hasn’t given up on him either. That’s why he goes to God and makes his complaint and appeal to God. He still expects that God is going to do something, which is great, and certainly something that we can all find inspiration in. God is indeed there for us, even in the worse of situations. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “What are human beings, that you make so much of them, that you set your mind on them, visit them every morning, test them every moment?” (chapter 7 vs. 17-18)
“Job raises profound questions for me about my relationship with God. A similar question is probed in Psalm 8:5: ‘What is man that you should be mindful of him?’ In short, why does God care about us?
“The only way I can make sense of God’s enduring love is to think about my relationship with my children. I remember bringing my newborn son home from the hospital. I couldn’t breastfeed and was obsessed about his weight gain. My worries about his welfare would wake me from a deep sleep and topple all my priorities. Why did I care so much? The answer is as simple yet profound as it is for why God cares about us: this child was my flesh and blood, my miracle. We, too, are children of God. When we put our relationship with God in the context of family, this changes the equation. The love I have for my children cannot be explained, and yet it explains everything. And so it is with God.”
Moving Forward: “What is your relationship with God the Father? Is that different than your relationship to God the Son?”