chosen

I am reading through Job. Is that telling? Fitting? Crazy? I am not sure, but I had tried to follow a reading through the Bible in a year type thing and although I let e few weeks go by without following it, I decided to get back on the bandwagon. So, I am in Job right now and thankfully, I am almost done.

A few things have stood out to me. But, I wanted to highlight that as I started in on Job 30 yesterday, I was struck by the fact that Job had become the "butt of the joke." Because of his losses and "misfortune" he was now mocked, spit on, taunted and so on. Why did this stand out to me? Because those around him were responding to his external state. They saw the losses, they saw the boils and suddenly he became the lowly, the rejected. Their mocking and taunting really had nothing to do with Job's character or his heart. They responded merely to what they could see externally.

It is too bad that people respond to externals rather than what is inside. Too often, we see someone and based on what we can visually assess, we judge them. Judgment is wrong. Basing things on externals is wrong. Oh, but it happens.

If we look back in the first few chapters of Job, we find that the things that happened to him were not as a result of sin. Satan was roaming the earth and when he reported himself in the presence of God, God offered Job as an idea. God OFFERED Job. That was a reality check for me! Satan didn't just choose Job and God gave permission. God offered Job to satan as a person who could lose everything and not sin, not dishonor God.

I guess what strikes me then is that by chapter 30, the people are mocking him based on what they see. However we know (Job didn't at the time) that God had chosen & offered Job to Satan to go through all of this as a testimony of Job's faithfulness to God. How many times do we see trials as a result of sin? In Peru, it was all too common for others to see something go wrong and immediately assume it was judgment from God on that person's sin.

Have we ever looked at someone's life, seen them walk through trials and thought, wow...how lucky...they were chosen by God to be a testimony to Him. How many times do we encourage those going through trials in that way? It sure is easy to make judgment on what we see. But next time, when you see someone going through a difficult season, trials and tribulations, remember that God may have chosen them to be a testimony of His greatness. Encourage your brother or your sister in that way.

This is not to say that in moments of grief in their life, you walk up and pat them on the back and say "Lucky you!" but gently remind them that they go through things only by God's permission and sometimes by God's suggestion. Those times are opportunities to trust Him in a greater way. Encourage your hurting friend to recount God's faithfulness even in difficult times. Don't mock, spit upon or taunt them.