Readings for today: Job 6-9
My father died suddenly in March of 2024. I remember the day vividly. I was driving with my son down to Colorado Springs where he had applied for college. We were supposed to do a tour of the university. My brother called me to tell me mom had come home from running errands to find my dad lying on the floor unresponsive. She called the paramedics. They tried to revive him to no avail. So we rushed home to be with mom while we waited for the coroner to come. Sitting at the dining room table with my father’s body lying on the floor in the room next to us was surreal to say the least. We couldn’t move him until the police came to do their investigation to make sure there was no foul play involved. So we sat together in silence while we waited.
I remember thinking back to some of these verses from Job. “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and they come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is but a breath, that my eyes will never again see happiness….My days are swifter than a runner, they speed by without seeing happiness. They glide by like reed boats, like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.” (Job 7:6-7, 9:25-26 NET) Thankfully, my father’s life didn’t without hope. He had given his life to Christ the summer before while we were in Israel and I got the privilege of baptizing him in the Jordan River. But the point Job makes here still stands. Our days are numbered before we are born. Even if we are granted long life, our time on this earth is short. The point isn’t so much to count our days as to make our days count.
Job also speaks powerfully about despair. He is in a dark place. He is hurting. He is grieving. He is lonely. And he cries out to God. This too is an expression of his deep faith. He trusts God enough to be real and honest with Him. He knows God can handle his raw emotions. He doesn’t have to hold back. He doesn’t have to watch his words. He doesn’t have to tread carefully or walk on egg shells. He can speak to God from the depths of his depression with the confidence that God will hear his prayers. This is part of why I love reading Job each year. It reminds me of the times in my own life when I have struggled with depression and despair. Job gave me hope in those dark days that I too could cry out to God and be real and honest with Him. And, like Job, God met me at my lowest point and raised me up to new life again.
Readings for tomorrow: Job 10-13