Anguish
“God, how could You? How could You allow this? All of our children dead! Our livelihood gone! What did we ever do to You? My husband has always been faithful to You and kind to people. He has judged fairly at the gate. He doesn’t deserve this—and neither do I!” Mrs. Job cried out.
Job groaned and she watched him shift his position.
She couldn’t hold it together any longer. Throwing down the broom, Mrs. Job raised a fist in the air, and yelled, “DO YOU STILL HOLD TO YOUR INTEGRITY? CURSE GOD AND DIE!”
Both froze. She held her breath. Job looked up and into her eyes. The compassion in his eyes belied the firmness of his voice.
“You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:8–10 NKJV). He looked at the pottery shard in his hand and deliberately scratched his arm.
Mrs. Job’s eyes bulged. She pulled her stare from her husband and fixed it instead on her lowering fist.
Where From Here?
Once you’ve cursed God, where do you go from here? Can you back down? How does God feel?
As it could have been with Mrs. Job, shame and dismay may cover you with despair. Not only has your life been destroyed all around you, but there doesn’t seem to be a way out. And then to be called foolish! Outrageous!
But, then, do we need to know the why?
What if God intends for adversity to bring about the highest good? If we bear up under the strain of the present, God can take our despair and disappointments and turn them around. In His time, He does it.
Don’t beat yourself over the head for yesterday. It is gone. Today is a new day. And all we are promised is today.
God promises to be with us through everything. All the time.
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