11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. - JOB 2:11-13
15a Though he slay me, I will hope in him; - JOB 13:15
Life is hard. It’s a common fact that everyone can agree on. Life throws you into circumstances you never imagined you would end up in. Your struggles, whether daily or occasionally, no matter what the world says, are valid. Your hurts, pains, mixed up feelings are not “too emotional” and your longing to be out of that pit is more than understandable.
I also know you feel alone sometimes. It hurts to look up. Hurts to look ahead. I understand the feeling of your future being ripped from you right at the moment you saw it coming together.
This past summer has been so hard. A lot has been said, a lot has been done, and some days I thought the end of turmoil would never be in sight. I don't know if there has been a day since April 23rd, 2019 that I did not cry, scream, or want to curl up alone in a ball. I have fought Satan every hour from waking up to falling asleep. I watched as my sister went through the same turmoil and my mother try and lead us out of the wilderness.
The three of us have held onto the phrase "all that night" throughout this trial because God worked with Moses and his people all through the night to flee Pharaoh. It has been such an encouraging three words to remind ourselves that God works in the night. In the dark times of life, He is still working.
As encouraging as these three words have been, the mornings still came with new mercies, but also with worse turmoil.
Now, even as I type this, I know my life and my struggles in this season my be minute compared to someone else's. However, that does not lessen my struggles. I also understand that some of you reading this today may be floating through life and the worst thing that has happened to you this week was that you had a flat tire, but my struggle does not lessen your struggle. I am a firm believer in God never gives us what we cannot handle WITH HIM, therefore, the struggles we have are important no matter what.
So, back to what I was saying... new mornings came with new mercies, but new turmoil followed suit. I found myself questioning who I was because of comments made by someone I held very dear to my heart. I was told I was "too emotional", that I was judgmental, and that the people I looked up to in my life were leading me astray. My character was put on question more than once and the same things were happening to my momma and sister.
We can chant all day long that sticks and stones hurt our bones, but words could never hurt us, but when it comes down to it, words hurt more. They linger in your mind like a scar on your skin, but the healing process lasts much longer. I am still healing and it is a daily process to continue that healing.
BUT GOD
At this point, I could honestly stop. BUT GOD speaks for itself doesn't it? However, to better explain what I mean by BUT GOD, I will continue.
For some reason, even though I am most undeserving, God placed specific people in my life this summer. They came unexpectedly, but these friends He brought to me were with me every night of the summer. That was something I always wanted. Ya know, the cheesy teenage comedies where a group of friends is together every night and they are inseparable?
I had that. Even on the absolute most terrible days. It was like a host of super heroes flew into my home every evening, being the hands and feet of Jesus. Catching my tears, making me laugh, and just sitting with me in silence. They didn't push me for information. They didn't run away because my life was messy. They stayed. Because GOD.
I still have my family, my land, my school, my job, my health, unlike Job, but like Job, I had friends to come to my aid in comfort.
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were Job's dearest friends. When they heard of all that had happened to him, they came to his side to comfort him. For seven days and seven nights they just sat with him on the hard ground and did not say a word.
That's it. They sat with Him.
At this point of the story, I cannot help but be thankful for these three friends Job had. That they came like super heroes to comfort Job and be there for him. I wonder if as they all sat in silence together, that Job just cried in thanksgiving amidst the turmoil for these friends who came to his side.
It was by far the worst summer of my life, I am not saying that lightly.
BUT GOD, being the all powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God that He is graciously made it the BEST summer because of the sweet souls He placed so perfectly in my life. Souls that sit with me and let me cry in turmoil. Friends that pick my head up and point me back to Christ.
Now, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were not perfect. When they did begin to speak, their theology was all messed up. This can be hard to see at first look at Job's life, but that is also the point of Job. That just because people do good things doesn't mean we are excused from hardship. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar ended up being rebuked by God for this theology, but their hearts were in the right place. The advice was still wrong, but the heart of them being there for their friend was spot on.
The friends God brought into my life this summer and into the school year are not perfect, but neither am I. Neither was Job. However, in the end, though Job went through every possible terrible thing in less time than a summer, he kept his hope in God.
I will too. Thankfully, my friend's theology is more sound than Job's friends, and they have also gone through hard seasons.
And...when I lay down in my bed at night and close my eyes to the world, I am reminded...
15a Though he slay me, I will hope in him; - JOB 13:15
And when the dark seasons billow
like waves of an angry sea
I will come to aid for you
to sit and to be
For my friend in sorrow cries out
and my heart has known their pain
With God holding our heads up high
we will not fear the rain
So friend, who is tossed and tattered
keep your eyes on things above
Though He slay us in the battle
our hope flies with the dove
-Joy Grace 2019
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