Have you ever been at a place in your life when you feel that you can’t tell which way is up anymore? The trials just keep coming. Life has knocked you down, and it feels like the hits just keep coming?
Job’s Humanity
I’ve been doing a study in the book of Job. Every time I read about Job, I am reminded how desperately human he was. The words that pour from his mouth show his humanness. There are so many verses in Job that are so accurate at putting grief and pain into words.
An example can be found in chapter three.
What I always feared has happened to me.
Job 3:25,26
What I dreaded has come true.
I have no peace, no quietness.
I have no rest; only trouble comes.
Don’t those words so accurately describe the feelings we have when we’re going through something that is just too much? As painful as Job’s story is, there is such beauty in his writing.
Bitterness of Soul
One of the verses that caught my attention this week comes from chapter twenty-seven.
I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights,
Job 27:2 NLT
by the Almighty who has embittered my soul—
That phrase embittered my soul really encapsulates the feelings we go experience when we’re in the middle of a trial. The King James Version puts it this way:
As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
Job 27:2 KJV
The word vex means “to make bitter,” and embittered means “anger or resentment at having been treated unfairly.” If we’re honest with ourselves, isn’t that exactly what we feel when God allows us to go through something that tests us to the very core of our faith? We would never say it out loud, but at night when it’s quiet and we’re all alone, those thoughts come to the surface. We feel that God has treated us unfairly, and we don’t know if we’re going to get through what we’re going through.
Reminder for Today
I don’t know what trials you’re facing today, but I know a little about what it’s like to feel like God has forgotten you, like he’s turned his back on you. God got me through that dark time in my life, and you can read about it in the book I wrote. But I’m here to remind you today that this is not the end of your story. God will get you through this.
I am here to remind you that God has not forgotten you. He sees you, and he knows what you’re going through. You are not alone. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but he’s right there with you and he’s not going anywhere. He hears you and will answer you when you cry out to him.
For More Encouragement
If you’re are in a trial right now and feel so alone, check out our devotional You Are Not Alone. It’s a thirty-day devotional with readings each day and verses to remind you that you aren’t alone even in the midst of life’s hard.
You can also read my post Handling Trials.
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