Job 42:5 “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”
Our tears flowed as we stood and watched the flames engulf my daughter’s condo. It had been a mere six days since her divorce papers were served and as her heart still ached the loss of her marriage, her nightmare continued. A single lightning strike had ignited everything else this young woman possessed and sent it ablaze.
Standing numb in the pouring rain, the words she uttered between sobs broke this mother’s heart. “Mom, I can’t take anymore. Doesn’t God know I’ve had enough already?”
Long before our child’s first breath, mothers petition God for parental wisdom. It was in this moment, a good and faithful Father once again answered that prayer and touched my heart with His gift of peaceful hope.
“I know we cry now,” I said as I hugged her, “but somehow through these tears that flow, God’s blessings will flow. We can’t see them yet, but we must trust Him.”
My lips uttered these words but my heart was struggling to receive them.
I recalled my brother, who during terrible seasons of life, will jokingly announce, “Just give me a boil and call me Job!” Indeed, we felt like Job, a man who was living his best life when without warning, it all turned terrible. Job also lost family and possessions. He too struggled to understand why.
Our vision of God’s greatness and faithful love can easily become blurred by tears that flow during our terrible seasons of life. Tears cloud our sight, allowing us to see but a short distance ahead and causing us to assume the picture we view is permanent.
The words in Psalm 23 offer peace for our terrible seasons of life. This psalm begins on a positive note, but like every good Hallmark movie, tragedy is inserted:
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me.”
Life’s journey will eventually take us all to this valley. But, stop to consider the comfort in the word, “through.” What does the word indicate? It tells us we will not stay in the valley. We may enter into a dark and frightful season, but there is an exit on the other side. With God, we pass through to the other side of terrible, where we find goodness, mercy, and the promise of a Forever-God.
Job walked through his season-of-terrible. When on the other side, Job admits his ears had previously heard of God, but now, his eyes witnessed the goodness of God.
The same proved true for my daughter. Today, she stands on the other side of terrible, with a fresh start, surrounded by family and church family. Before the flames, our ears had heard of God, but now our eyes see clearly His goodness.
Father God, we praise you for walking beside us through the terrible seasons of our lives. We praise you for the way our faith grows as we emerge the other side of terrible to walk in a season of peace with you.
Blessings,
Rita Cochrane