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The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold. – Job 42:10
Sometimes, all that is required until the storm clouds part is that you survive.
Warning: I am using mixed metaphors throughout this devotional. You might find it disorienting. Yes, it is intentional. :)
Our world can be a fickle instructor. It can teach us lessons that sometimes help us through difficult times:
“Pick yourself up by the bootstraps.”
“If it’s gonna be, it’s up to me.”
“Climb ev’ry mountain; ford ev’ry stream.”
These modern proverbs mean to encourage the downtrodden and the afflicted. And they have their place. The message is when things get tough, don’t give up. Push a little harder, strive a little longer, you’ll get there.
Within all this advice is something that we all need to hear from time to time. But considering how often we hear advice like this, I’m inclined to think that the world as instructor over-generalizes the truth. For every one time we need to hear “pick yourself up by the bootstraps,” there are many other times we need to hear that striving is the same thing as chasing after the wind (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
Case in point. Our well-to-do hero Job becomes the victim of a series of afflictions from the evil villain, Satan. Just prior to his affliction, God and Satan have a conversation. Satan claims that the only reason Job does not curse God is because his life is filled with God’s blessings and protection. He suggests that if God were to remove His blessing and protection, Job would curse him. So, God agrees to allow Satan to afflict Job with family death, poverty, and sickness and disease.
At this point, our modern world might try to teach Job that what he needs to do is pick himself up by the bootstraps, strive to overcome his adversity, and make lemonade out of lemons.
And, to make matters worse, even our modern Christian church would have all kinds of additional advice for our man, Job. They would tell him to pray the prayer of James 5:14-15, get his friends to anoint him with oil, and believe God will heal him. If only Job had faith the size of a mustard seed, he could speak to his mountain to be cast into the sea and it would depart from him. Poor, faithless Job.
But what Job really lacks in his affliction is an understanding of why it is happening to him. God has not told him why he is suffering like this. In fact, by the end of the book, there is no evidence that God ever explains Himself.
Why am I telling you all this? What’s this got to do with you and the storms of life?
Sometimes, God does not give you an answer when you ask him why you are going through a nasty storm. Why do loved ones die suddenly at a young age? Why did your job suddenly come to an end and now you struggle to know how to pay the bills? Why are you or why is someone you love plagued with physical or mental illness even after receiving repeated prayer for healing?
Ever notice that telling someone to pick themselves up by the bootstraps in these moments is bad advice? Most times, “If it’s gonna be, it’s up to me,” is a setup for disappointment and sorrow.
News flash: you are NOT supposed to climb ev’ry mountain and ford ev’ry stream.
Sometimes, all that is required until the storm clouds part is that you survive.
And yes, they do part. Every season has a beginning and an end.
If the mixed metaphors are making you dizzy, let’s sail forward with our storm cloud idea. Imagine you’re out on a sailboat. The winds become erratic and fierce. Devilish dark clouds roll in. In no time, the rain is pelting you, and the boat is in danger of capsizing.
There are some things that you need to do immediately. The first is lower the sails, lest the wind capsize your boat. You need to drop anchor lest you drift over open water. You need to do your best to distribute weight on the beck of your boat to avoid needless tossing and rocking. But listen now; once you’ve done those things, what you need to do is go under, blanket up, and wait out the storm. There isn’t anything else you can do. You can’t sail. You can’t row. All you need to do now is survive.
That leads me to the verse near the title. Who restored and increased Job at the end of his woes? God. Did Job do ANYTHING at all to make that happen? Nope. What did Job do? He refused to curse God and he lived through the suffering. He waited for his storm clouds to part by simply surviving.
I guess the advice here is know when to take steps to survive a storm. Be diligent, do your part, be a good steward of all God gave you. Use wisdom. Be courageous, as you can.
But then, let God restore and God increase in His time. Sometimes, all you need to do is survive.