[Job cried out,] “Though he kill/slay/murder me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15a).
The world seems a scary place right now, filled with violence, fear, and grief for many. (To some extent, this is always true, but it is harder for me to ignore evil as I write.) Hamas terrorists have just mercilessly attacked Israeli civilians. Israel in return is preparing to enter Gaza. I’ve seen some people call for a nuclear response. I’ve witnessed neighbors turn on neighbor. War might spread. Things are grim, and we might feel a bit like Job. “Is God against us? Why are we suffering? Where is God?”
Evil can be prevalent in the world and capture our vision at times. It can blind us to God’s love, but we are promised by Jesus that God is always reaching out to save us. As a Christian song (Hallelujah, You are Good, by Steven Curtis Chapman) proclaims to God in an early version, “You are with us, You are for us, Hallelujah, You are good.” This song was written sometime after the musician had lost his beloved daughter in an accident. A sibling backed over her as she played in the driveway, and his daughter died.
What kind of faith is this that can trust even when one’s heart is broken? It is the faith we are invited to share. It is a faith in a God who promises to bind up the injured, heal the sick, and free the captives. It is faith in a God who comforted Joseph in prison and freed his descendants and extended family from slavery. It is faith in a God who was willing to die for us, so that we can truly live.
Yes, as the song says, faith will give way to fear at times. We won’t always feel God near, and what we dread most might come to pass (and with it tears). Yet, Steven Curtis Chapman and his family decided to seek to trust God’s heart, a divine heart that seeks to embrace us in love and give us new life. This is a bit of the faith of Job who lost all his family. There was no good reason for this evil and loss. Job could not understand. He was in shock and despair. Despite his tears and pain, he worshipped God anyway. He strove to trust, and he recognized evil does not come from God, a God who we learn from Jesus is only love. No, God is our Comforter, and God will be made manifest to us in times like these. “Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high” (Job 16:19).
I don’t know answers to the pains of this world – perhaps only hints at best – but I know our Redeemer is alive and lives for us. We are told this by God repeatedly. And I know as the Body of Christ, called, claimed, and baptized, we must remind ourselves and others amidst our pain that God is with us always. We can show this through words and deeds as we seek to share hope with the hopeless – even as we might struggle with hope ourselves.
Facing the calamities of his own time, a prophet once said on God’s behalf, “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me” (Isa. 46:9). Age to age, God remains the same, and it is this same God who loves us now. And so, with Job, I place my “hand over my mouth.” I will try to wait, watch, listen, and trust. I will seek love my neighbor as myself. Death has already lost, and in Christ, we have already won. Hallelujah, God is good. God is ours. And may we never forget, we remain God’s forever. This truth can give us courage.
Originally submitted for publishing in the November newsletter of Christ Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg, VA.
© 2023 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author.
Steven Curtis Chapman’s song….
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