Let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. 1 Corinthians 7:17.

All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:25-27.

I love this chapter, Job 14, because of profound verses. These verses are words that Job spoke. They show the confusion of understanding we each of us have. Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!…A persons days are determined…so look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired laborer…At least there is hope for a tree…Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant…If only you would hide me in the grave…and then remember me! v. 4, 5, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13. And then the famous words I love so much…If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made. v. 14-15.

Job couldn’t understand the abrupt changes in his life that were so painful. His adult children were no more, his body covered in painful sores, his friends telling Job that God was punishing him because of sins he would not admit. He was living a new reality he could not comprehend. Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble. They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure. v. 1, 2. Could Job utter those words when everything in his life was going smoothly? Did he have reason to question God, or himself, before the awful trials? Can we begin to understand the doubting of people who suffer and cannot make sense of a cruel world that is harsh and unforgiving? Are we harsh and unforgiving of others? Can we trust everything in our life, our very selves, the good and the awful…to God? I hope so. At the end of all things as we know them now, as Job knew them then, is God – Father, Son, Spirit – loving us, forgiving us, healing us, redeeming us to life with Him always. And that isn’t all there is now. This life is not just to be endured or taken for granted. God loves us now. He is our Helper rejoicing in the good and comforting and strengthening us through the awful. We are those tender shoots that respond with new growth when God’s Spirit touches our hearts that hunger and long for His truth and Love. His truth and His Love are here now. Let God open your eyes to see the good He is doing. It makes the awful bearable because we know we will all of us be healed; and knowing God we know how much we each of us need His healing. Thank You Lord for so great a Love!