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One of Those Days
by Janine Scott-Lowe, MD
Job 1:13-15: Now ON THE DAY when [Job's] sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, a messenger came to him and said, "The oxen...and donkeys...were taken, and the servants were also slain..."
Job 1:16: WHILE HE WAS STILL SPEAKING, another also came and said..."The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants..."
Job 1:17: WHILE HE WAS STILL SPEAKING, another also came and said..."The camels were taken and the servants were slain..."
Job 1:18-19: WHILE HE WAS STILL SPEAKING, another also came and said..."A great wind struck the house where your sons and daughters were, and it fell on them and they died."
Have you ever had "one of those days?" You know, when NOTHING seems to be going right? When the ONLY news you seem to get is BAD news? When you hear yourself saying over and over again, "if it's not one thing, it's another?"
Well, as you can see in today's scriptures, Job had "one of those days" as well, except in HIS ONE day, he lost his oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, servants, and his 7 sons and 3 daughters. Each time his servant came to him, he delivered news of more and more lost. If that wasn't bad enough "again there was a day (Job 2:1) when Job experienced yet ANOTHER blow. This time, he lost his HEALTH. He became "filled with sore boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head." (Job 2:7) Then, his 3 "friends" came to visit him, supposedly to "sympathize with him and comfort him." They did pretty well the first 7 days and nights when they were there (because no one spoke a word to him). The problem came ONCE THEY OPENED THEIR MOUTHS. Not only were they no longer COMFORTING, but they were actually CONDEMNING Job because of his plight.
So, what does Job's story have to do with us? To me, it supplies me with a good dose of PERSPECTIVE. NO MATTER HOW BAD OUR DAY MAY BE, SOMEONE ALWAYS HAS IT WORSE! What can give us HOPE is that A DAY IS JUST A DAY; it has 24 hours, and IT WILL PASS. We just need to HOLD ON UNTIL THE MORNING, when we will receive our NEW MERCIES and JOY.
MORE than just PERSPECTIVE, Job's story AMAZES me with his RESPONSE to the news from his day. If it were ME, I might first be ANGRY, CONFUSED as to why it was happening, then slip into a PITY-PARTY (with ME, MYSELF, and I), and DEPRESSION. But NOT JOB. What did JOB do? Job 1:20 says that "Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and...WORSHIPED." HE DID WHAT? He didn't fall to the ground and have a temper tantrum? He didn't kick and scream? He didn't roll up into a ball and cry? NO...he WORSHIPED and said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. BLESSED be the NAME OF THE LORD."
WOW! May OUR reaction to "one of those days" in our lives be the same. May our prayer be for the Lord to FORGIVE US for those times that we reacted with BAD attitudes, and to HELP US to LEARN to WORSHIP the GOODNESS and SOVEREIGNTY of our God, knowing that if He ALLOWED the circumstance to happen, it has a PURPOSE in our lives, and HE WILL WORK IT OUT FOR OUR GOOD, and WILL GET THE GLORY OUT OF IT IN THE END. We can STILL PRAISE GOD and BE GODLY during "one of those days!"
Love ya!
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