Imagine your worst day. A day where everything has went wrong that could go wrong. You know the ones: you wake up late and rush out the door only to realize once you have arrived to work that you forgot those important papers and your lunch and oh yes, you have two different shoes. Everything you touch seems to fall apart at work. The copier breaks, your keyboard stops working. Even the coffee maker stops (you should probably run away at that point...people without coffee = SCARY!) You get a phone call during an important "can't miss" meeting that your child is sick and needs to be picked up. On the the way to pick up your sickly baby, you discover your tire is flat. You spend money you don't have at the doctor, wait an hour at the pharmacy, and entertain your sick baby at the tire shop. You think it's over and you fall into bed for much needed rest covered nonetheless in grime, sweat, and tears but quickly you are awakened by "Mommy, I need you!" You get up cranky and sleep deprived because of the day prior. Okay so this may be a little exaggerated, but we all certainly have days that seem to place us in a hamster wheel of bad luck, misfortune, or grippling challenges.
When we have these days or experience heartaches, turmoil, or challenge; how do we greet them? How do we handle them? I find myself guilty of wallowing in the misery of those days, waving the white flag in the air, and pleading for mercy. I often succumb to the challenges and give up. Other times I may reconstruct the dilemma into anger or irritation directed at others, even my family. In other words, we take it out on someone else, creating even more issues that snowball an already catastrophic day into a blizzard of tumultuous despair.
Tonight, I read the first chapter in Job. Job was an upright man that feared God. He had much substance in his life; land, animals, and family. He had much that had been given to him. The Lord provided a hedge around him and blessed him. Satan however attempted to steal the faithfulness Job had in the Lord. He tried Job in every possible way. He told Job of the havoc wrecked on his livestock, his family, his home. The messengers came to Job one after the other telling him of all the terrible things that were happening to Job's possessions and family. Talk about a bad day. The details of Job's day just kept getting worse and worse. Worse than any of us could ever imagine.
The most important details aren't in how bad Job's day was, but in how he responded. What did he do? Did he scream and cry and plead to the Lord? Did he curse those close to him? Did he rebuke the name of the Lord? No. He fell down to the ground and worshipped the Lord. Seriously! He worshipped the Lord. He wasn't foolish in blaming God for his bad day, but had an humble spirit and showed reverence to the Lord.
Perhaps the most important words Job speaks in this chapter are "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." How powerful that verse of scripture is and how humbling it was to me as I read it. Job still praised the Lord despite his struggles. If you read further in the book of Job, you see the conclusion to all of his struggles. He is blessed ten fold. He has more than he had before and the Lord blessed him because he remained faithful and true to him during his trials.
What can we take away from this? Stand firm in the Lord. Though you may be crossing a treacherous and rocky mountainside, if you remain close to his side and continue to praise him through the storm, you will rise victorious. There is no need to plant the white flag into the ground in defeat, but instead raise your hands in praise of what he's doing. He has a plan to bring you out ahead IF you remain steadfast in your faith. While it can be challenging and you often find yourself doubting or asking why, instead decide to worship him and keep the faith. Oh to have the patience and faith of Job!