I FINISHED JOB!

I never thought this day would come. I have finished Job! Last time that I attempted this Bible reading plan, I completely gave up on Job. It was too difficult for me to read. I felt as if Job complained all the time, and was not listening to his friends. I stopped reading Job close to the middle. Well, this week... I FINISHED JOB! I am so very proud of myself.

In Job 38 the Lord finally speaks! I waited 38 days to hear the Lords voice in Job! In Job 39 the Lord describes the animal kingdom. In Job 40, the Lord begins to speak directly to Job.

My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Job 42:5. I truly feel like we all have to experience God's grace and see God move in our lives to truly know who He is. Friends can tell us about God, our Pastor can tell us about His grace, but until we experience it in our lives... we can't fully believe. Some people may be more stubborn, and need to experience God move radically in their lives. I was one of the more stubborn ones. God has always had His hand on my life, but it took me many years to truly accept that it was never me, it was always Him.

After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10. I love this! This says to me that though we may feel as if the Lord is not with us in our struggles, He is. If we remain faithful and turn to the Lord when we are struggling, when we are no longer struggling He will bless us more abundantly than imaginable. It is too easy to praise the Lord when our lives are easy. When all our bills are getting paid, we have the family we always dreamed for, and the spiritual life we always wanted. It is not easy to praise the Lord when we get laid off, our husband is drifting away and we can't seem to hear from God. If we continue to call out to Him when we are in need, He will bless us!!

I do not know a lot about suffering. I have never lost everything I had. But, I do know that I am confused as to what He is doing with my life. I do know that it is hard for me to thank the Lord for a well paying job, when I can't get 40 hours a week to pay my bills. I currently feel like, I would be better off to take a pay cut somewhere else and make 40 hours a week. I do know that the promise in 42:10 is alive and well, the Lord is with me. He will bless me if I remain faithful in this time of need. It is all too easy to turn away from Him right now. But, I will not. I will keep showing up, as Pastor said. :-)

So, Job is over :-). I know how it ends. (Shh... don't tell anyone I said this, but...)It was worth the read. Now, if I could get into Isaiah...