A Journey of Encouragement
After losing her ten children, wealth, social standing, home, friends and more, Mrs. Job, in the Bible is known for her one outburst to her husband, Job, "Do you still hang onto your integrity? Curse God and die." Life's disappointments, stresses and tragedies can leave you shaking your fist in anger at God, questioning His goodness and wallowing in self-pity or grief. Mrs. Job is not mentioned again, but it could be that after her initial rage, she faced her grief, and met God in deeper ways. Modern faithful women tell their stories through the same experiences and found God at work in their lives. Meditation questions, journal questions, and prayers provide opportunities for you to draw closer to God, gain eternal perspective, and build the character of Jesus within your life.
Life’s disappointments, stresses, and tragedies can leave you shaking your fist in anger at God, questioning His goodness, wallowing in self-pity and grief, and fearing your future. Unmet expectations, difficult relationships, losses, wayward children, illnesses, financial troubles—the list goes on. Do you find that you remain faithful to God when life goes as planned but crumble when things don’t go your way? If so, author Linda Jo Reed wants to encourage you not give in to life’s disheartening circumstances.
Linda Jo takes a unique perspective on Job retelling the story of his wife and expounding upon the little that is said about her in the Bible. Job’s adversities also result in tremendous loss for his wife. But while Job remains faithful to God, his wife finds her spiritual reservoir empty, curses the Lord, and reviles her husband. Mrs. Job’s Choice: A Journey in Encouragement explores the truths of our God, who gives second chances and is at work in all our lives, even when we can’t see beyond our circumstances.
Mrs. Job’s life is weaved with the biblical account of Job, Linda Jo’s own story of despair and loss, and inspirational illustrations of overcoming—faithful women who have seen God at work. Meditation questions, journal questions, and prayers provide opportunities for you to draw closer to God, gain eternal perspective, and build the character of Jesus within your life.
For those grappling with a new normal, here’s a spirited handbook for the raveled soul. Through vivid scenes from the imagined life of Job’s never-named wife, author Linda Jo Reed explores the nature of loss and the art of lament, then and now. Harrowing contemporary stories include a catastrophic mudslide, cancer, an internment camp, family estrangement, births, deaths, brides, and more. Through them all, Reed shows us women of faith who not only survive, but compellingly live their deepest questions. How is it that questions help us feel so honestly heard and held?
If you’re looking for stories of raw pain that produce courage and Spirit-led inspiration, or uniquely vulnerable stories to uplift your journey, you’ve found it in Mrs. Job’s Choice. Poignant stories of real people are found in “plot twists” in their books of life. Meditation and journal questions found in every chapter are fresh and practical. Delightful, vulnerable prayers go deep, and they invite growth found in intimate times with the Lord. If a time of irrational pain has discouraged you, this exceptional book invites you to fresh encounters with a trustworthy God.
Linda Jo opens the door for the reader to venture in finding the one true way to our Father in heaven so He can hold us in His arms while going through despair and heartache. She shows how God gives us peace and comfort. This book is a very good read, and I highly recommend it.
“The Lord gave. And the Lord has taken away. And the Lord restored.” Linda Jo’s capture of Mrs. Job’s life—on this side of the veil—encourages my heart. When I recall to mind that our Lord not only allows demolition, but oversees the priceless reconstruction, I take heart once again. Mrs. Job holds up a mirror to the human condition with which we are so familiar when God gives —and when He takes away. It is in those seasons, however long they may linger, that “His mercy is showcased in our lives as it was in the lives of Job and his wife,” as Linda Jo so eloquently stated.
Each woman’s story, including her own, shared within these pages, is a showcase of the Lord’s mercy and covenant commitment to bring about His righteous conclusion. Well I know, as one in a
multitude of others, that weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning! Linda Jo’s storytelling against the backdrop of events in Mrs. Job is, in turn, a showcase of the Lord’s majesty wrapped in His unfailing love for extremely human hearts and lives. How heartening to see with eyes of faith, His pen poised over the books of our lives: “And the Lord . . .” Faithful. True. Father of good gifts to His children.
