Your job moment

We have often spoken of our Job moments in life.  Those moments where you are tested to the limit. Those “poor me” moments where everything seems wrong.  Let’s take a glimpse at one day in Job's life to understand how this love journey can be difficult.  

Job 19:14-19 NET “My kinsmen have failed me; my friends have forgotten me. My guests and my servant girls consider me a stranger; I am a foreigner in their eyes. I summon my servant, but he does not respond, even though I implore him with my own mouth. My breath is repulsive to my wife; I am loathsome to my brothers. Even youngsters have scorned me; when I get up, they scoff at me. All my closest friends detest me; and those whom I love have turned against me.”  This Job moment highlighted him saying that those whom I love have turned against me. Don’t we often feel that the very ones we love aren’t there to love us? Please note those whom I love, there is no guarantee that those you love will love you or be there for you. When Jesus was on trial, the very ones that were excited about his entrance into the city were the same ones that called for his crucifixion.  This love has to be given despite the emotions of those around us.  
The interesting part is Job's very own wife was disgusted by his breath. His friends had forgotten him and finally, in his own house, he felt like a foreigner.  Can anyone identify that as we are loving to others on our jobs, in our city, and even within our homes, we feel like strangers?

As you see, a home without love is just a house. There is no comfort or rest, only constant pain enhanced by our circumstances. Then one would say this journey of love is futile and not worth it. That would be true if we didn’t know the end of the story.  You see a Job moment is just that a moment. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.  If ever there was a reason to look at the sunrise versus the sunset, this is one of those moments. Growing up, I remember the poster on the wall that said, “THIS TOO WILL PASS”. The love that was shown by Job seemed useless, but it was producing character and a testimony not only for Job but those who were witnessing his trial and transformation. To believe that a grotesque caterpillar will someday be a beautiful butterfly is hard to imagine, but if you realize, staying the course will achieve the destiny you envisioned.  Do you ever wonder what those who treated Job above felt like once the testing finished?

 Let’s get to today’s challenge. Consider those you have loved but have not loved you back. The kinsman, friends, children, or husband or wife that thought you were disgusting. Now set aside those natural emotions to look for them to love you and then focus on the One that loves you. It was the love of God and His belief in Job that allowed the test but also redeemed him from the miserable state he was in.

 Can we be satisfied and convinced that God’s love is sufficient for every situation we face? 
Can we put aside the past and live in the today? 

Remember that you see more going forward than looking in your rearview mirror. As long as you continue to look back, you can never be free to enjoy the present. Then, when you call those, you have loved, and they don’t respond, you can continue to pray in the garden alone. 
God bless you, my beloved.