The eye of the hurricane

I had a strange dream last night.  The fact that I had a dream in the first place is in itself a bit off – I hardly ever dream – but the actual content of it was even more bizarre.  I dreamt that I was with my 80+ year-old grandmother (don’t ask me why), and we got hit by a hurricane.  Three hurricanes actually, right in a row; each one more devastating than the last.  Never mind the fact that I live in a landlocked area that hasn’t ever been hit by even one hurricane in my entire lifetime; in my dream it made perfect sense. 

But anyway, I digress.  The first two hurricanes that came through, I was panicked and frantic, trying to figure out how to survive the catastrophe.  But when the third hurricane hit, I followed a different tactic.  I prayed the entire time, asking God to get me through it.  And it’s strange, because it all happened within a dream, but I remember feeling such a peace, knowing that God was there and looking out for me.  It was as if I had found the eye of the hurricane, that tiny circle of solace in the middle of the storm.  

After I woke up, I did some pondering and praying about that night.  I dream so rarely, that whenever I do I generally figure that there’s something that God wants to teach me, and I had better pay attention.  And I realized that, while God promises to always be with us, He has never promised that things will be easy.  Sometimes, in fact, He may even allow you to be brought to a place of desperation.  But He does this not to harm you, but because He loves you and wants you to trust in and depend on Him more fully.  Even if that means allowing you to go through terrible storms.  Don't assume you know the whole picture.  Regardless of how hopeless things may seem at the time, in the end, God WILL protect you and see you through.  

Job 1:21-22
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”  In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Consider Job

Yesterday's Bible verse was from Job, but I thought that it might be a good idea to expound upon the subject of Job, since I didn't really do a very good job of that yesterday.  The book of Job is really quite an interesting read.  Throughout the chapters, the reader is given a bird's eye view of what's going on.  We see that Job is being tested, that God is proud of him, that Job's wife and friends are confused and not giving him good advice, and that Job really is a godly man.

But that is NOT the perspective that Job saw.  All that Job saw was ruin and destruction.  In the blink of an eye, he lost his wealth, his health, his family....everything.  And then, to top it all off, he had friends constantly deriding him for his lack of faith, his godlessness, his sin - surely that must have been what caused all of this trouble, right??  Of course we know that that wasn't true, but I can't help but wonder about Job.  Did he ever wonder if they were right?  Did he start to doubt himself, doubt his integrity, wonder what he had done wrong, question why God was punishing him?  Of course he did....how could he not have?

When I read Job, I am always reminded to stick it out.  Because God really was there.  Although life seemed hopeless, God never left him, and was always in control of the situation.  Perhaps Job realized God's provision after his wealth and family were restored to him; perhaps he didn't fully understand until he died and went to heaven.  But he didn't have to.  He trusted in God, regardless.  Wow.  There's a lesson that we all would do well to take to heart.

Job 1:6-12

⁶ One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. ⁷ The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
   Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
 ⁸ Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
 ⁹ “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. ¹⁰ “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
 ¹² The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
   Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.