“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,

and he will stand upon the earth at last.

And after my body has decayed,

yet in my body I will see God!

I will see him for myself.

Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.

I am overwhelmed at the thought!” – Job 19:25-27

This world is filled with friends of Job, is it not?

Whenever there is trouble in this world, we look for how we are responsible for our own pain. A tsunami would only be unleashed on the immoral, right? A disease that refuses healing could only remain if it were allowed to by the sufferer, correct?

The world is all too ready to assign blame. Perhaps some secret sin is to blame. Or not having enough belief could be to blame. Maybe the blame belongs to past generations.

Job figured it out, though. He knew that sometimes innocent Christians are allowed to suffer. He recognized that the blame game was just that… a game that helps those who aren’t suffering at the moment to feel superior in their faith.

Job proclaimed, in the midst of his terrible strife and despair, that he would be redeemed. That he would see God with his own eyes. And the thought overwhelmed him.

He did not qualify his declaration with “if…then” statements. Job didn’t feel the need to defend himself of his God against blame-assigners. He simply stated the truth. His Redeemer lives.

May we all have such hope. May we all remember that no one is to blame when grief strikes. No one but that old enemy. He’s how he has been all along.

May the powerful truth overwhelm us.

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. – Romans 8:1

 

Let’s Go Deeper:

1. Do you ever doubt God’s goodness or try to place blame for your own suffering or the suffering of someone else.

2. What new light does Job’s insight shed on your beliefs?

3. Write here a verse that reminds you that your Redeemer lives and you will see Him.

4. What is one thing you can do, today, to be God with skin on to someone who is feeling abandoned?

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May God Bless You,

Shelly