RSS

Category Archives: Job

“Little Shop of Horrors”

04 Oct

**Warning: If you have not seen the movie “Little Shop of Horrors” or it’s original ending that was not released in theaters, there are spoilers ahead.**

Dear God, I was talking with my wife about how I don’t like the last eight verses of Job:

10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money[a] and a gold ring.

12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.

If Job is a novella and not an actual biography, as many scholars suggest, I wish it stopped with Job 42:9, with Job praying for his friends. But these last verses actually seem incongruous with the rest of the book. It’s almost like they undermine the lesson the book had taught me up to that point. Specifically, that our lives are not about our comfort or success. They are submitted to you. Laid on the line for you. Prepared to suffer for you. In fact, it feels like I can list on one hand the number of biblical characters whose lives got easier after they decided to dedicate them to you. Most of their lives got much more difficult and ended tragically.

So what does this have to do with Little Shop of Horrors, the Broadway play, turned musical, turned movie? Well, I first saw it in the theaters while I was a junior in high school. It was great. I loved it. Lots of fun. The music was great. Steve Martin’s dentist was awesome. And the ending left me with the two main characters getting their happily ever after. Then, about fifteen years ago, our local community theater did the stage production of the musical. I was really excited to see it. And the cast did a great job. The two young people who played Seymour and Audrey were great. The dentist was over the top in the best way. And then we got to the show’s climax. The plant, the Audrey II (which was revealed to actually be an alien), was going to try to eat the heroes love interest, but he would save her, find a clever way to kill the plant, and then they would live out their dreams in the suburbs. But that’s not what happened. Seymour failed to save Audrey. She was dead. Then the plant killed Seymour, and replicants of itself eventually took over the world. I was stunned.

I found the theater director after the show and said, “The plant wins?!?”

“Yes, she said, “that’s how it originally happnened. They changed the ending for the movie.”

I looked it up and, sure enough, that’s what happened. They screened the original ending (see above) to test audiences, and the movie was scoring off the charts until everyone died and the plants (aliens) won. It was a looming disaster, so they changed the ending. And I’ll admit, I don’t think 16-year-old me would have enjoyed that ending. The movie’s director, Frank Oz, said that he learned that the original stage musical could get away with it because the actors can come out for final bows and the audience doesn’t have to feel like they are really dead, while a movie doesn’t give the actors that chance. When they are gone, they are gone.

I am thinking about this because I almost feel like someone added the last eight verses of Job to make people want to read it. To tickle their ears. To give them hope. And I want to be careful to not just dismiss pieces of scripture or be so arrogant as to think that I know what should be in the Bible and what shouldn’t be. But I’m just having a hard time reconciling the lesson of submission regardless of what it costs me to the abundance provided to Job after his experience. This is thought to be an ancient story from even before Noah.

The New Testament reading for the church today is from Philippians 4. One of the verses says, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests know to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” There’s no guarantee of wealth and success here. In fact, Paul’s life got nothing but harder, all the way up to his martyrdom. So he knew about bringing petitions to you, but he also knew about how you were using him beyond what he wanted and the peace you would give in that struggle.

Father, I don’t want to pretend that my life is suffering. In fact, outside of my and my wife’s one great sorrow, it is actually quite lovely. I don’t really know what it means to truly suffer, and I know I take that for granted. But you’ve used the sorrow to form me. You’ve used the challenges in my life to form me. Help me, Lord, to not lose sight of you and you alone as my priority. Not me. Not my wants, although I have wants and I’m delighted when I receive some of them. Not the way I want things to be, although I have preferences about politics and world events that I’m delighted when I get my way. No, I want to just see you, follow you, serve you, and rest in you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 4, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Job 42:7-17

03 Oct

7 After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.

Job 42:7-17

Dear God, I was struck by the last sentence of verse 15 this morning: “And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.” What an interesting thing to include. Women had no agency back then–especially if this is assumed to be in a time before Noah. So the fact that the author of this story went out of their way to let us know this little detail seems like they are telling us that something new formed in Job as a result of his suffering. I did take a moment to look up some others’ commentaries on this subject, and I found this site, which did a nice job of quoting a lot of people about this one verse.

I am sitting here freshly from having visited with my wife over the breakfast table, and we were just talking about how some of our life sorrows have formed us. She was telling me about one of her dreams which seemed signficant, and that led to us talking about how she is different than she otherwise would be without our sorrow. I talked about a couple of instances this week where two different people commented about a particular aspect of my behavior, and I said that I don’t think I would be that way without the sorrow. The sorrow is awful. It’s painful. I hate it. I’d love for it to be resolved and over. I can’t imagine the delight it would bring me to have it over. But I can also see that it has formed me, and I don’t know who I would be without it. I don’t know that I would like the person I’d be without it as much as I like the person I am now.

Father, I was writing a letter to someone yesterday whose foundation is called “Make it Count.” It made me think about all of the things that can mean. It can mean, “I have a lot of wealth, and I want to make it count for something.” Or it can mean, “If there is going to be pain, let’s make it count for good.” In my life, I’ve learned to embrace both aspects of that phrase. If there is abundance, let’s make it count. If there is pain, let’s not let it be wasted, but let’s make it count. I have a day ahead of me. It will be slower than the days I had this week. It was a really busy and stressful week. But you led me through. And now there is a particular crisis happening in a coworker’s life–the dominoes of which will ripple through the lives of others. And some are having to make some potentially life-changing decisions because of this. For each life. For each family. For each soul that is touched by this, I pray that you will be with those who are making decisions and help them to know what to do. And for those who will be affected by those decisions, I pray that you will teach, love, support, and provide. In each thing all of us experience, Father, please don’t let it be wasted. Don’t let the abundance be wasted. Don’t let the pain be wasted. Please, make it count.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 3, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Job 38:1-21, 40:3-7, 42:1-6

02 Oct

38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy?

8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
    to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
14 As the light approaches,
    the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.
15 The light disturbs the wicked
    and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
    Have you explored their depths?
17 Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
18 Do you realize the extent of the earth?
    Tell me about it if you know!

19 “Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
20 Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
21 But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!

3 Then Job replied to the Lord,

4 “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?
    I will cover my mouth with my hand.
5 I have said too much already.
    I have nothing more to say.”

6 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

7 “Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them...

42 Then Job replied to the Lord:

2 “I know that you can do anything,
    and no one can stop you.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
    It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,
    things far too wonderful for me.
4 You said, ‘Listen and I will speak!
    I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.’
5 I had only heard about you before,
    but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
6 I take back everything I said,
    and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

Dear God, we are so entitled. I can’t help but wonder if all of us (Christians) shouldn’t wake up every morning and read these passages together. And I mean every morning. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to look at these words at the start of each day and remember my place in your creation. And what is my place in your creation?

  • I’m incredibly small. I’m 1/8-billionth of the earth’s current population. I’m 1/350-millionth of our country’s population. More locally, I’m 1/27-thousandth of our county’s population. I am small. As many people as I know and know me in our small town, when I go to the grocery store, only a handful of people know who I am. To most, I am just a stranger.
  • I am loved by you. You are capable of loving just little ol’ me. Not only that. You choose to love little ol’ me. I’m really not worthy. But not child is worthy of a parent’s love. Certainly not the way loving our children is baked into us. I’m your child, and you love me.
  • I am one of your worshippers. My response to your love and your interest in me is to worship you. Submit to you. To remember my place. And the irony is, the more I do this the more elevated I actually feel. And not necessarily in others’ eyes, but in yours and I can feel it in my own. It’s a paradox that is foolish to man.
  • I am sinful. Though I try not to, I know I frustrate you sometimes. I’m sorry. And I know you’re frustrated with me because my sin is hurting me and sometimes others. It’s getting in the way of your best for me. So, like Job, I repent and press on.
  • I am part of your plan. I’ve heard it said that your people are your Plan A to address things in the world, and you don’t have a Plan B. I think this is mostly true (I think you can do things without us), but you expect us to love our neighbors as ourselves. I heard an example on a podcast yesterday. Someone had asked this pastor, “How should I respond to a trans person who has moved into my neighborhood?” He replied, “If you moved into a neighborhood that had only trans people, and you were the only gendered heterosexual, how would you want them to treat you?” You want me to be your Plan A. And in my actions, you gave me four tools to use. The tools that Jesus used. Prayer. Service. Persuasion. Suffering. Anything outside of those four is likely outside of your idea of how I should follow your will.
  • Loving others is as much for my good as it is theirs. We have your nature. We are in your likeness. So there must be something about the love that is in you that is in us, and it is good for us to show that love as much as possible. I supposed that means it’s good for you too. Forgiveness is good for us, so it’s probably good for you.

Father, I might type these words from Job up and tape them to my bathroom mirror. I imagine it would be good to start every day reading them and remembering just who I am, and especially in relation to just who you are. You are everything you said you are in chapters 38-41 (4 chapters of letting Job have it!). I know I’ve earned that kind of ire from you before. I’m sorry. I love you. Thank you for forgiving and loving me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 2, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , ,

Job 19:21-22

01 Oct


21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

Job 19:21-22

Dear God, I sometimes wonder if I am a good enough friend to others. Am I there when they need me? When I’m there, do I do the right thing? Worse yet, do I ever say anything that actually does more harm that good–especially regarding their faith in and comfort from you?

There was an episode of Ted Lasso where one person was having an emotional outburst. She was sitting and crying uncontrollably. Another character came in, asked what was wrong, didn’t get much information from there, and then intuitively just sat next to the person to be with them while they cried. It was a great example of presence without acting on the compulsion to fix.

Early in our marriage, my wife taught me a phrase that I now not only use with her, but I use it with others too: “I’m so sorry. That sucks.” Men, especially, try to fix things. That’s what Job’s friends were doing here. They were convinced that Job had sinned and earned your wrath. If he would just repent then all would be well again. Maybe even tell them what he had done. They were trying to fix him. What would Job’s journey have looked like if they had just sat with him? I think there is a scene where they do that. I can’t remember where it is in job, but I have this image of Job sitting on a pile of garbage with sores and everything on him, and the friends just sit there. I need to look that up.

Okay, here is is from Job 211-13:

11 When three of Job’s friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. 12 When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.

Their first instinct was a good one. “No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.” I just read ahead to chapters 3 and 4. Job finally speaks in chapter 3 and then one of his friends replies in chapter 4. That’s what breaks the silence. The friend is wrong about some things, but he doesn’t mean to be wrong. He’s speaking out of his own ignorance. But he’s well-intentioned.

Father, help me to love and also do no harm. Help me to know when to be present, when to be silent, and when to speak. And if it is time to speak or act, please, please keep me from hurting more than I help. Keep me from hurting at all. I want to be your ambassador in any situation. I want to be part of your kingdom coming into the world. I want to be used by you to be the hands and feet you need to do your will in this world. At a minimum, I want to do no harm, but at a maximum, I want to be exactly who you need me to be. And I suppose I should pray for myself when I feel like Job too. Help me to accept your comfort. Help me to let go of needing to “understand” and just ask you what you have next for me. I want to always find my peace and comfort ini you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 1, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Job 9

30 Sep

Job’s Third Speech: A Response to Bildad

9 Then Job spoke again:

2 “Yes, I know all this is true in principle.
    But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight?
3 If someone wanted to take God to court,
    would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?
4 For God is so wise and so mighty.
    Who has ever challenged him successfully?

5 “Without warning, he moves the mountains,
    overturning them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth from its place,
    and its foundations tremble.
7 If he commands it, the sun won’t rise
    and the stars won’t shine.
8 He alone has spread out the heavens
    and marches on the waves of the sea.
9 He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion,
    the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.
10 He does great things too marvelous to understand.
    He performs countless miracles.

11 “Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him.
    When he moves by, I do not see him go.
12 If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him?
    Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’
13 And God does not restrain his anger.
    Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet.

14 “So who am I, that I should try to answer God
    or even reason with him?
15 Even if I were right, I would have no defense.
    I could only plead for mercy.
16 And even if I summoned him and he responded,
    I’m not sure he would listen to me.
17 For he attacks me with a storm
    and repeatedly wounds me without cause.
18 He will not let me catch my breath,
    but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.
19 If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one.
    If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court?
20 Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty.
    Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.

21 “I am innocent,
    but it makes no difference to me—
    I despise my life.
22 Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God.
    That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When a plague sweeps through,
    he laughs at the death of the innocent.
24 The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked,
    and God blinds the eyes of the judges.
    If he’s not the one who does it, who is?

25 “My life passes more swiftly than a runner.
    It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.
26 It disappears like a swift papyrus boat,
    like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27 If I decided to forget my complaints,
    to put away my sad face and be cheerful,
28 I would still dread all the pain,
    for I know you will not find me innocent, O God.
29 Whatever happens, I will be found guilty.
    So what’s the use of trying?
30 Even if I were to wash myself with soap
    and clean my hands with lye,
31 you would plunge me into a muddy ditch,
    and my own filthy clothing would hate me.

32 “God is not a mortal like me,
    so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.
33 If only there were a mediator between us,
    someone who could bring us together.
34 The mediator could make God stop beating me,
    and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.
35 Then I could speak to him without fear,
    but I cannot do that in my own strength.

Job 9

Dear God, years ago, I tried to go through Job in my typical, small-chunks-at-a-time way. I found myself so confused. I knew Job’s friends were wrong, but they didn’t sound wrong as I read what they said. I knew Job was wrong, but he didn’t sound wrong. This passage is an example of what I’m talking about. Job knows you’re God. He knows he can’t begin to argue with you or try to make sense of you. At the end of the chapter, he talks about needing a mediator between himself and you. I’ll get to that later. But first I just want to sit with the idea that he just feels abandoned by the God he thought he knew all these years. Betrayed might be a better word. He feels like your unreasonable anger has turned against him, and he is angry with you. Ultimately, he would love to take you to court to get some justice from you because he’s not feeling it.

This is the Old Testament reading for the Catholic church today, and it’s ironic because it comes on a morning when I was listening to a report about a program called “Life Surge” that has come under some scrutiny recently. Apparently, they are trying to sell wealth under the guise of selling you. The report played one pitch where they were talking about making a lot of money through doing things the right way. I couldn’t help but think, “I wonder if they think the poor widow Jesus saw putting her two coins in the offering should have just taken their class to not be poor anymore. Should she have just worked harder and smarter? Then Jesus would have taken those two coins and turned them into wealth for the rest of her natural life.”

I heard someone say one time that, when you read the Bible, almost none of the characters’ lives got easier as a result of following you. Abraham. Jacob (well, maybe Jacob). Moses. Jonathan. David. Elijah. Elisha (well, maybe Elisha). Jeremiah. Mary and Joseph. All twelve disciples. Paul. The list goes on and on. Life got harder. Almost always. Even for David becoming king. His life would have probably been easier and even more faithful to you had he not been anointed by Samuel.

So we come back to Job, and he feels betrayed by you. He has grievances, but he has no mediator. I had a time in my life when I didn’t feel betrayed by you, but I certainly felt disappointed and let down. Things didn’t turn out the way I thought they should in my family, and I was disappointed that you didn’t keep it from happening. But then I learned that you had never made the deal I thought in my head you had made. I invented that deal. All you ever said was that if I walked with you, you would walk with me. In fact, much like Jesus plainly telling the disciples that he would die and rise again and they didn’t hear it, I can look at scripture and see all kinds of examples of times when Jesus and others warned me that my thinking was wrong, but I couldn’t hear it. I chose not to because it didn’t fit the narrative I was looking for.

So back to the mediator Job mentions at the end. I have two thoughts.

  • I take Jesus for granted. I take for granted the fact that I can sit here with you this morning. With your Holy Spirit teaching and comforting me. Without that mediation, you would not be able to stand my presence. But here I am, communing with you because Jesus links us.
  • The mediation Jesus gives simply brokers your forgiveness of me. It doesn’t earn me anything other than the privilege of walking with you and the opportunity to give your Holy Spirit good soil in my heart in which the fruit of your Spirit can grow. It doesn’t change you except that it makes me tolerable–no, loveable–no, tolerable to you. I was going to change it to loveable, but for some reason, I’ve always been loveable to you. I’m your child, and you love me. You want me. But without my mediator, you just can’t tolerate me.

Father, I have another full day in front of me. Be glorified in it. Be glorified in me and through me to others. Love others through me. Let your kingdom come into this earth through me. Let your will be done on this earth through me. I have to say, right now, the path I’m on is pretty easy. Other than a constant sorrow, nearly every other area is much more than I deserve. Even if all of the good were to go away and tragedy were to befall me in a few or multiple ways, help me to always remember Job. The lesson from Job isn’t patience. The lesson of Job is learning the hard lesson that my life is worth nothing to me. If only I can finish the race and complete the task you’ve given me. The task of testifying to the good news of your grace (Acts 20:24).

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on September 30, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Job 19:21-27

29 Apr


21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
    Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
    engraved forever in the rock.

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!
27 I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

Job 19:21-27

Dear God, I am reminded in this passage why I had such a hard time with Job the first time I read it and tried to journal through it. One simply cannot read Job in snippets. It must be ingested as a whole book. The verse for today was just verse 25:“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. That verse makes Job sound like he’s worshipping you in what he’s saying, but he’s actually complaining in this whole section. How could you have turned on him. He admits that you live and that he will see you for himself one day after he has died, but until then he’s going to complain about you punishing him for wrongs he thinks he didn’t do.

But I do want to sit in this moment of frustration (and sin) with Job. You’ll let him know in chapter 38 just what you think of his complaints. But for the moment, he’s frustrated. And I’ll admit, I’m in probably my most frustrating stage of work right now. I’m looking for some answers with staffing, and I’m not finding them. I need your help. I need your guidance. I need you to bring the right people to us to help us help our patients. I need you to give me ideas, insights, and wisdom. I need you to make my path straight. I’m not complaining. I’m not saying that I’m suffering. And I’m grateful for what you’ve done for us to help us plug the gaps. But you know we are struggling right now to really reach our potential because of staffing, and I need you to guide us all.

There have been times in the past when I felt really let down by you, but you brought me through those times, and you were more gentle with me then than you were with Job starting in chapter 38. You sent me a former preacher who simply told me, “It’s hard when we are disappointed with God.” I was disappointed with you, but my expectations were misinformed.

Father, as I sit here now, I think about friends who have lost children to death. Friends who are widowed and lost their spouses too young. Friends who have lost family members to estrangement. The pain in my own life. And I don’t blame you for any of those, including allowing them to happen in the first place. This is life. It is our life. All you’ve told us is that you will walk with us. So walk with me today, as you walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Speak to me. Comfort me. Provide for me. And help me to worship you well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 29, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Job 19:1-6

29 Apr

19 Then Job spoke again:

2 “How long will you torture me?
    How long will you try to crush me with your words?
3 You have already insulted me ten times.
    You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.
4 Even if I have sinned,
    that is my concern, not yours.
5 You think you’re better than I am,
    using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.
6 But it is God who has wronged me,
    capturing me in his net.

Job 19:1-6

Dear God, it can be hard to be a friend and know when to speak and when to remain silent. When to give a solution, when to give an admonition, or when to say, “That sucks,” and just give the other person a hug.

In this situation, Job was wrong, but he was also right. He was wrong that you had wronged him. But he was right in that he hadn’t done anything to incur your wrath so his friends were wrong to keep accusing him of such. Everyone was looking for someone else to blame when there was simply no one to blame. Job’s friends blamed him. He blamed you. None of them were right.

If I had been Job’s friend, what should I have done to help him? If I have a friend now, what is my role in their life. Where do I draw the line between helping them find a solution, perhaps pointing out an area where they are possibly at fault, and then just holding them and telling them, “That sucks”?

I heard a story recently about a father whose daughter intentionally threw a youth league game in a tournament so they wouldn’t have to go into overtime because she was too nervous about overtime. The father then sent out an email to the coach and possibly others saying his daughter was so anxious over two girls on the team who are not as good as she thinks they should be that she intentionally threw the game. In my mind, the father was so horrified he looked for someone else to blame so he put his daughter’s anxiety on these two young girls who are likely not part of the problem at all. But his blinders caused him to lose perspective.

Father, I’ve been too close to things and lost perspective before. I am sure there are things going on in my life that I can’t see as well. I am a fool, and I need to be careful in my own life to prayerfully consider situations before I speak. Before I act. To take a beat. Whenever I speak or act impulsively, I am almost always wrong. And I almost always cause more damage than I resolve. So continue to teach me. Forgive me for my foolishness. And I do want to say thank you for everything. For the food I am about to eat today. For the home I live in. For my health. For my wife’s health. For my wife and who she is. For our friends. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 29, 2025 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Job 42:1-6

16 Feb

42 Then Job replied to the Lord:

2 “I know that you can do anything,
    and no one can stop you.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
    It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,
    things far too wonderful for me.
4 You said, ‘Listen and I will speak!
    I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.’
5 I had only heard about you before,
    but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
6 I take back everything I said,
    and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

Job 42:1-6

Dear God, I want to pray for comfort today. I have several people I know who need your comfort. There are some who are experiencing health scares for themselves, their children, or others they love. Of course, for those, I pray for healing and a path forward. I pray that you will make the pain they are experiencing count for something. Don’t let it be wasted. I’m thinking of a little boy with some development issues. Oh, please help him and help his parents. I honestly don’t know how I would respond if I were them. I am thinking of the sisters I know whose father seemingly has a serious case of cancer. If healing is within your will for him, I implore you to heal. But I also ask that you will use this fear and concern to draw each person involved closer to you.

But what started all of this for me this morning are two mothers I know who are mourning the loss of their children. One was a slow, long death. One was a sudden heart attack. It’s too late to heal, but we will all die eventually. In these cases, I ask that you will raise up people in their lives who will comfort them. I pray that you will send your attending angels to protect them. I pray that you will fill them with your Holy Spirit. Oh, God, please comfort these women.

Then I am thinking of all of the others I know who have lost loved ones. The widows/widowers. The children who have lost parents. Then I have the young boy I know in an unpredictable living situation. I am concerned for him on a lot of levels. Oh, God, please move in these lives. In these situations. Provide your path and your hope for them.

I relate all of this to this passage because this is Job’s ultimate conclusion in the depths of his suffering. After you have had your fill of his indignancy at having suffered greatly, you remind him (and me through him) that he is nothing. Who is he to question you? After you dressed him down, his response?

2 “I know that you can do anything,
    and no one can stop you.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
    It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,
    things far too wonderful for me.
4 You said, ‘Listen and I will speak!
    I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.’
5 I had only heard about you before,
    but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
6 I take back everything I said,
    and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

That last verse: “I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” That’s what it’s all about.

Father, for the complaining to you I have done, I am sorry. Show me what to do to worship and glorify you. Please protect the people I’ve mentioned here from complaining and bring them into a deeper relationship with you than they would ever have otherwise known. You are good. You are merciful. Bless those who mourn and comfort them. Bless the poor in spirit and show them your kingdom with your eyes. Protect. Inspire. Comfort. Provide. Heal. Teach. Grow. Mold.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 16, 2025 in Job

 

Job 38:1-21, 40:1-5

04 Oct

38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?

8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
    to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
14 As the light approaches,
    the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.
15 The light disturbs the wicked
    and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
    Have you explored their depths?
17 Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
18 Do you realize the extent of the earth?
    Tell me about it if you know!

19 “Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
20 Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
21 But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!

40 Then the Lord said to Job,

2 “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
    You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

Job Responds to the Lord

3 Then Job replied to the Lord,

4 “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?
    I will cover my mouth with my hand.
5 I have said too much already.
    I have nothing more to say.”

Job 38:1-21, 40:1-5

Dear God, this might be one of my favorite things in the whole Bible. I remember the first time I tried to read Job on my own I had a really hard time because some of the things Job, his wife, and his friends were saying seemed so reasonable. Why had things gone so poorly for him? Didn’t he deserve better? The whole thing is like a petulant child throwing a fit and then you coming in and setting the child straight. And Job was really suffering, so I’m not trying to make light of that or his complaining. I get it. I’m a complainer too. I can get roughed up a little and then feel sorry for myself. But we rarely see you deal with someone one-on-one like this in real time. We don’t see you bluntly correct an individual like this. We’ve seen you speak through the prophets and warn groups of people. We’ve seen you correct Moses for an act of disobedience. But to see you just let Job have it for three chapters is really quite something.

The thing that helped me turn the corner on this was the Introduction of a commentary on Job by David McKenna from the Mastering the Hold Testament series (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, General Editor). In it, he listed the six levels of faith as developed by James Fowler and his book The Stages of Faith. Quoting McKenna:

  • Intuitive-projective faith is associated with a child’s faith, based upon fantasy.
  • Mythical-literal faith is the family faith of the early school years, which is sustained by moral rules and either/or thinking.
  • Synthetic-conventional faith is an adolescent faith that conforms to the tradition of the community and creates the “kind” of person of faith whom it models or rejects.
  • Individuative-reflective faith is the faith of the young adult who is capable of critical thinking, independent reflection, and dialectical reasoning.
  • Conjunctive faith is a mid-life and old-age faith that integrates self-identity with a comprehensive world view to see the order, coherence, and meaning of life in order to serve and be served.
  • Universalizing faith is the rare faith of a world citizen who incarnates a transcendent vision into a disciplined, active, and self-giving life.

According the McKenna, Job opens with him and his friends at the synthetic-conventional level of faith. They all believe the same thing about you and part of that belief is the idea that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Frankly, it is probably where the disciples are when they first meet Jesus. It is evident by this story from John 9:1-2: 9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” Jesus told them that neither is true: “3It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” So Job and his friends start here, but the road of suffering take Job all of the way to universalizing faith.

I’ve gone deeper down the rabbit hole on this than I intended, but I just love it so much. A book that totally confused me and eluded me was brought to life by McKenna and his application of Fowler’s work. One thing I notice about Paul is that he seems to get to this level of faith very quickly. In Acts 20:24 he says that his life is worth nothing to him. He only lives to complete the task you have given him. Then he goes on to suffer and see the opportunity in it without complaining. And there was amazing opportunity in Paul’s suffering. I am probably sitting here this morning because of Paul’s suffering.

Father, first, I don’t know what suffering is. I have sorrows. I have things that bring me to tears. But I have not truly suffered. So I want to just start by acknowledging that I mainly speak of this out of ignorance and from an academic standpoint. Watching Job go through real suffering and then be so chastened by you is also very sobering. And I don’t want to invite suffering. I’m not stupid. But I do, right here, right now, submit my life to you. It is worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the tasks you give me. Help me to know exactly what those tasks are.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 4, 2024 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Psalm 27:7-8A, 8B-9ABC, 13-14 (Catholic Daily Reading for October 3, 2024)

03 Oct

R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm 27:7-8A, 8B-9ABC, 13-14

Dear God, this is the psalm that the Catholic church paired with this passage from Job 19:21-27:

21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
    Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
    engraved forever in the rock.

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!
27 I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

It seems to apply to me today because I spontaneously had a good cry this morning. I talk often to you about the constant sorrow in my life. Well, I was listening to a secular song from P!NK this morning called “Who Knew?” The final verse says, “That last kiss I’ll cherish until we meet again. But time makes it harder. I wish I could remember. But I keep your memory. You visit me in my sleep. My darling, who knew?” The song can be interpreted in many ways. The obvious interpretation is that it is sung by a lover who was abandoned. But she wrote it for a friend who died by suicide. For me, it is about my sorrow over broken relationships over which I simply have zero power. So as I shaved this morning, I played this phrase of the song about five times and just cried. I feel the tears coming up even now.

Then I sat down to look at scripture this morning, and I saw Job’s sorrow. Then I saw this psalm from David. There are sorrows in this life. There are things I cannot understand. You use my life in ways I cannot understand. You use sorrows in my life and in the lives of others to form me. I’m not saying you cause the sorrow, but I do pray that you help me to not waste the sorrow. Use it for the good of your world and for me. Not my personal wealth or anything like that. Just my formation into the man you need me to be. The man you are calling me to be. And do the same for those who are in these broken relationships with me. Don’t let this be wasted on them either. Love them. Heal them. And bring your glory into this earth through these things. I come to you as Job did at the end of the book. My life is worth nothing. Use me as you see fit.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 3, 2024 in Job, Psalms

 

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older posts