"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him " Job:13:15a
Sometimes these experiences are their own,
other times they pass through these things vicariously through the lives of
members who are under their care. Often the words fail to convey what is
learned by the varies experiences that pastors have, at times, it defies
languages' ability to capture them and express to others what has been learned.
Marge
Some years ago, there was, in one of the congregations
which I had served in, a woman named Marge. I watched this Christian woman
slowly die through the ravages of cancer, even to this day I cannot adequately
express all of what I learned by watching Marge as she faded from a healthy woman
of 130 pound down to a frail sickly woman of less than 89 pounds.
I would see Marge each week at church, she
never stopped attending, but came even in the midst of her illness, Marge
would not allow even cancer to stop her from worshiping the Savior whom she
loved and whom she knew loved her.
Marge knew many things, she understood that in
spite of all that she faced there was never a moment when she faced it alone.
She believed the words of Heb: 13:5 where
our Lord tells each and all of us "I will never leave you nor forsake you”.
Marge knew that Jesus stood for and with her,
that through it all Jesus was there every moment of every day through her
sickness.
Marge had come to the point in her life where
she trusted God, no matter what was or happen to her. Marge reached a
point where in the face of the cancer all she could do was leave it in the
hands of God and trust that regardless of the outcome that, in the end it would
be alright our Lord would bring redemption.
Job
Job lost it all, suddenly by no fault of his
own it was gone. This emphasizes the temporal nature of the life we live here
upon the Earth, nothing of this life is forever. It all will, at some point,
come to an end for us.
Job found that his life, after the loss of his
Children, his livelihood, his estate, his health and even his ability to stand
in his position in life, all this was gone . Job was reduced down to sitting on
an ash heap, his grieving and mournful wife lashing out at him in her sorrow
calling on Job to curse his God and die.
"Then said his wife to him, Do you still
retain your integrity? curse God, and die." Job: 2:9
I would like to note, that often Jobs' wife is
sometimes viewed by some in an unfavorable way, yet, consider her for a moment,
she has just lost everything along with her husband. This woman is lashing out
of a broken heart and deep-seated grief. Job is not the only one who is suffering;
she too is suffering.
Even as Jobs' friends begin to impute reasons
for all of Job's loss and suggest that there must be a hidden sin that has
caused God to visit all of these tragedies upon Job. Yet it is
here in the midst of all this tragedy, job's life reduced to an ash heap
as he asserts his trust and hope in his God.
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in
him " Job:13:15a
Job understood that no matter what happened,
God would, in the end turn all things to Jobs' good. He trusted God in
life and in death.
Trusting God
This is what my friend Marge knew and
understood even as she laid in that bed dyeing at a hospice facility near
Uniontown Pennsylvania. I recall my wife and I drove there on next to the last
day of the year; it was cold and snow covered the icy roads but we made the
trip because I believed that is what Jesus wanted us to do.
We entered her room, Marge was in that bed,
now unable to speak above a faint whisper. She had been reduced to less
than 89 pounds frail and sick, and was now beyond the point of feeling pain. I
can still remember how profound a moment that was, and still is to me. It is
hard to explain but in it all I could see the glory of the Lord. Jesus was here in Marge's suffering and dyeing.
We spent only a little time with her, we
anointed her and prayed that in life or death that God would be glorified. The
last words that Marge spoke to me, this side of eternity, was in a voice that
was weak and spoken in barely a whisper, she said "I am so blessed”. All I could respond was to say "I will see you after".
We left the hospice knowing that unless God
Himself stepped in we would not see her again this side of eternity. The next
day Marge died.
I have never forgotten Marge's' last words to
my wife and I....."I am so blessed"
Marge had a life worth preserving, of being
lived out. Marge was kind, gentle, warm, patient and wise, she was easy to
love, but yet she died.
The Ash Heap
Marge's life, like Jobs', was reduced to an
ash heap, all that she could do was to trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. All of
us have, or will have, moments in our lives where everything seems to be coming
undone.
We may feel that we have been reduced to the ash
heap, our prospect are reduced and limited. We can become forlorn and feel
forsaken and even our friends may insinuate that what we face is the process
of "divine discipline" for a hidden sin or the
voices of critics can rise and assert what they think is transpiring. Our
friends and brethren stand apart from us, we feel altogether alone. We are
perplexed, no easy answers are forthcoming.
So often, when challenges of this magnitude
befall us, it is our natural inclination to turn our eye to the heavens and to
ask "Why?”. But that is really not the right question. The real question
is not "why?" but "who?"
Jesus: the Answer
When hard times come upon us, as they will,
whatever form they take our question should not be "why?" but "Who?”. The answer to
"who?”, is Jesus.
All that we face whatever it may be,
regardless of its origins, the answer is Jesus. When answers elude us as to
"why?" , our answer is always Jesus. Jesus is the one, and always correct,
default answer to any and all challenges.
Jesus understands the human experiences for he
joins in, and shares it, through the incarnation. Jesus understands our
suffering and pain, sorrow and grief, loss and all else which we might face.
"He was despised and rejected by men, a
man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces,
He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took on our infirmities and
carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and
afflicted." Isa: 53:3-4
All things which we face are to show us our
need to look to Jesus and to trust Him. That in Jesus everything is already
made right. In Jesus, we have in the end, hope of life, victory, justification,
validation and everything else.
St. Paul the Apostle was no stranger to
challenges, St. Paul uses his experiences as an Apostle to address
challenges that do arise in the Christian life and all that is ours in Jesus
in-spite of what we pass though in this life.
"We put no stumbling block in
anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as
servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in
troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in
hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and
kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the
power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;
through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded
as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on;
beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making
many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." 2Cor:6:3-10
St. Paul also tells us in the end all things
even if it means our deaths God will turn it to our good through Jesus Christ.
" And we know that God works for the good
in all things for those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose" Rom:8:28
We hear this assurance quoted many times, but
that is only because it is true.
In the End
Early Christians suffered much, they faced many challenges in life , persecution, loss of freedom, miscarriages of justice, betrayal and much more. Yet to many, they understood that all that we face is our sharing in Jesus and they knew that in the end it was going to be all right, because Jesus lives, this was in many ways the whole point of the book of Revelation, St. John encounters Jesus Christ , and Jesus speaks not just to St. John or the early church but to Christians down through the ages with the powerful words of comfort that He is alive and we need not fear even death.
"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as
though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I
am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am
alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." Rev: 1:17-18
My friend Marge knew this to be true, she knew
that Jesus lives and because he lives, she could face sickness and even death without
fear. In the end it would be alright because in Jesus it already is alright.
Marge could trust Jesus with her life and her
death.....she could whisper those words "I am so blessed "
through dyeing lips because Marge knew "through He slay me I will
trust in Him"
Marge knew that like Job, she would rise from
the Ash Heap of death and have eternal life with Her Lord Jesus Christ. And so
will any and all who trusts in Him, my friend Marge did ...."though He slay me I will trust in Him"...
Benediction: May we each and all ever trust in our
Lord even when we face vexing challenges, today, tomorrow and
forevermore. Amen
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Rev.Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma
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