2024_03_01 Insight Post- Julie Christensen
This week’s reading- Job 1-3, Job 19, Job 31
Have you ever watched the same movie twice, or maybe even three times? As the credits roll, have you ever experienced that stunned feeling as you realize what you saw this time that you didn’t see the first time? Walking away in disbelief, questioning yourself, “How’d I miss that?” This describes the reason I’m enjoying our 2024 Bible Reading Plan so much. With the title, “Men and Women of the Bible”, it changes my perspective as I begin each week’s reading. I’ve known the story of Job since childhood. I’ve read about his devotion to God over and over, despite his incomprehensible circumstances. However, over all these decades of reading about Job, I’m stunned to read of his immediate praise to the Lord, falling to the ground in worship (Job 1:20). If I just learned my livestock of hundreds were all now dead, and my house is flattened, I’m quite certain my first response wouldn’t be falling to the ground in praise. Yet, Job reminds us that the Lord gives and the Lord can take away. I was also stunned as I reread the dialogue between the Lord and Satan regarding Job. Hearing the Lord challenge Satan made me smirk (Job 1:8, 2:3). That challenge has been there for thousands of years, yet with this BRP, once again my perspective is allowing me to pick up different information.
Honing in more specifically on the men and women of the Bible has been eye-opening. Now, what about Job and his unwavering devotion to the Lord? Job reminds us that our faith in the Lord is justified even when our situation looks hopeless. Believing and obeying doesn’t keep us away from calamities. As a matter of fact, if we are committed to the Lord, we should expect Satan’s challenges. We can’t allow adversity to diminish our faith. Instead, we must work to mature our faith while in the challenges. May we not become vulnerable in despair, but instead hold onto our faith.
Julie Christensen
Senior Director of Silo Center