Day 53
Scripture focus: "Healthy people don't need a doctor - sick people do. . .Now go and learn the meaning of this scripture: 'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners." Matthew 9:12-13 NLT
When Job experienced his season of loss - brought on because he was a righteous man - even his closest companions ASSUMED that it was somehow his fault. Clearly this wasn't true. From the first to the last chapter of the book of Job, the story unfolds, casting aspersions on our presumption of guilt in the face of hard times. Even today we struggle to not blame others (or ourselves or even God) for hardship. True enough, sometimes our suffering is the result of poor choices, bad decisions, and careless reaping and sowing.
In an age when a gospel of prosperity preaches well and fills churches - does this perpetually positive gospel rendering satisfy our need to understand suffering? Does the alluring and palatable teaching of "do right and all will be well" appropriately address the fact that sometimes, like Job, we suffer - not because of our sin nor in spite of our best behavior - BUT BECAUSE OF OUR FAITH? Can it be true? Yes! It is the message of Job! Job suffered because he was a man who stepped as God spoke. Being good doesn't guarantee prosperity (by our limited definition of the word). Being godly doesn't assure us of sustained seasons of joy (if we assume this means happy).
But that's not the end of the story. Being naughty doesn't always land us in the pit of despair. Unbelief is not always met with the swift and mighty sword of consequence for the wayward. Many of the psalms we will read this year were written to God, questioning why evil seems to go unpunished and the unfaithful appear to prosper. What's up with that? So here we sit: being good doesn't always get us a pat on the back and a special treat; being naughty doesn't always result in consequences and time out. The psalmists want answers and so do we!
I don't think we'll ever find all the answers and explanations that we seek when it comes to grasping the nature of suffering. What I believe with all my heart is that answering those questions to our own personal satisfaction is NOT the pathway to peace. When we suffer, what we desperately need is mercy.
I suggest that we suspend the need to judge the rightness or the wrongness of our pain, take a hiatus from blaming and accusing, explaining and excusing. If all is well and we're feeling healthy, cool. But if we're feeling sick - sick of the sin of ourselves or others - sick with worry about the perceived silence of God - sick with chaos and confusion - sick with a deep and pervasive dread of what tomorrow will bring - sick of heart, mind, body or spirit - cease and desist with the desire to understand why. Instead, call out to God, who hears our cries, responds to misery, and rescues us.
Recommended reading: Leviticus 13 in the morning; Psalm 39 in the evening
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