Page 14 January sa Cassiar Courier Stappy Reflections Hi! I hope you had fun during the holidays! Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions? It is my prayer for the new year that you and I would be encouraged to “fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience.” (Tim. 1:19) Sometimes holding on to faith and a good con- science does seem like a fight doesn’t it! We can find many examples of this fight in scripture, but let me tell you about Job. His story has been on my mind lately. Job was a pretty neat guy. He worshipped God and was careful to do good at all times. He was the richest man in the part of the world he lived in. One day God allowed Job’s money and children to be taken from him. Job tore his clothes and shaved his head (a sign of great sorrow) and fell to the ground in worship, saying, “Naked I came from: my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21) In all this Job did not sin. To test Job further God sent him sickness and pain. He was covered from head to foot with boils and sat on the ground by the city gate in great distress. In those days the city gate was the meeting place for politicians - all the men. Job’s wife was angry about all their mis- fortune and thought Job would be better off dead. Death came to those who cursed God so she said to Job, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die.” (2:9) Job replied to his wife, “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” (2:10) In all this Job did not sin. Job had three friends. They heard of his troubles and agreed to go and comfort him. When they saw Job from a distance they didn’t recognize him because he was so changed. They tore their clothes and wept and sat be- side him on the ground in silence for a week because they could see that his grief was great. Job then told his friends about his sorrows, wish- ing that he had never been born. (He came close to cursing God but did not.) They finally spoke and told him he must have sinned, but if he would repent of his sins, God would forgive him and make him well again. When Job saw that he could neither die nor get well, and that his friends did not understand, he grew impatient. He was willing to have his troubles for a while but not until God saw best to take them away. He then found fault with God, saying that God was being cruel and unjust. Then God answered him out of a whirl wind. “Who is this who darkens my council with words without knowledge? ... Where were you when J laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me if you understand... Can you bring forth constellations in their seasons? . .. Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens? . . . Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God? .. . Will the wild ox consent to serve you? . . . Does the eagle soar at your command? . . . Will the one who contends the Almighty correct Him? Let him who accuses God answer Him!” (from Ch. 38, 39) “Then Job answered the Lord, I am unworthy - how can I reply to you? (40:3, 4) God replies, “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?” (40:6, 8) “Job replied to the Lord, I know that you can do all things. . . Surely I spoke of things. . . too wonderful for me to know. . . Therefore I despise myself and repent in the dust and ashes.” The Lord forgave Job and restored his wealth to double the original amount. Job lived 140 years more and saw his new children (born after his trials) and their child- ren to the fourth generation. The poetry of God’s response to Job is so beauti- ful I hope you take the time to read it! In comparison, my words are very poor indeed. Did you notice at which point Job sinned? It was not when he lost his wealth and children, not when he became ill, not when his wife tempted him to curse God and die, but when he believed that his situation would continue indefinitely and when his friends said he deserved to suffer. I confess that I think of Job’s friends as being “stupid jerks”, but do I not also sometimes judge situations that I don’t understand? Job may not have sinned and become angry at God if his friends had offered him non-judgemental support. Poor Job went through quite a series of trials! Why did God allow such things to happen? What good came out of it? Here are some possible answers to those questions. ils Job’s relationship with the Lord was strengthened because his trust in God grew to cover every circumstance. Job also learned that it is not necessary to understand God to trust Him. Since God created us as companions for Himself, it-must be one of His goals to draw us closer to Him. De Job regained his health and doubled his wealth. He also lived to see his great grandchildren ‘We can assume that his short period of testing was more than made up for. 3. Because of Job’s testings we eve the Book of Job to learn from. We see how God allowed Job to be tested to the point where he thought he could not take any more Then God answered Job from a whirl wind. Pretty spec- _. Cassiar Courier January 1988 Page 15 tacular stuff! In his prayers Job had asked to be able to talk to God and confront Him. Well he received that and -much more! If our Lord cared to answer Job’s $ prayers perhaps He also has compassion for us. Our answer as to why the Lord tested Job to such a degree is probably not completely satisfactory. We (I) don’t really understand God’s motives. But, isn’t that really the point? We should not expect to understand God. Our job is to trust and obey. _ Who are you in Job’s story? Are you Job? Are you his wife? Are you one of his friends? Last month I said I would let you know how my — “problems” are going. Trying not to rebel and/or resign myself to “suffer” was difficult, but the Lord “spoke” to me through Job. Ah Ha! Now I understand. I was saying, “Why God?”, when it is not my right to know “why”. Yes, things are MUCH easier when I don’t worry about “why” and simply trust God in His wisdom. God answered my “problem” prayers by whispering to me, “Remember Job?” every chance He got! He does answer prayer and helped me to “fight the good fight’, and He will answer you too. : by Beth Minty SOBRIETY ITS YOUR CHOICE! ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Wednesday - Closed Meeting Sunday - Open Meeting 8:00 p.m. CATHOLIC CHURCH BASEMENT Phone 778- 7479 “7 + + +7 cor oe oer err er rw ww rw rrr rrr roo r ooo oo eo we ro er CCC oC oC oC oC CC Co CTT oT FC CT ee oe ee Oo FoF CC oe Co oC oo ee wo oor ero re ee hee eC eC Co oe ee oe ee ee eee to serve you. MARVEL TRAVEL SERVICE LTD WELCOMES BRENDA KANDAL Brenda, a qualified travel agent, comes to Marvel Travel from Abbotsford. 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