From my Daily Journal, October 18, 2010
“What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.” Job 3:25
How could a man like Job experience such deep fear and dread when having lived and experienced such a privileged existence. He enjoyed abundance, wealth and influence, a family portrayed as a close knit and generous bunch. Job is presented as a great man, solid in character and spiritual devotion. He was a man dedicated to honoring God. It is recorded that he would offer sacrifices for his children just in case they blasphemed God even if in their hearts (1:5). Job’s declaration, as I see it, shows that all humans are the same at the core. No matter how great or small, powerful or weak, religious or ungodly, no matter how deeply suppressed there is an undeniable, unshakeable “fear” at the core of every human.
Just like a tea bag in hot water releases the flavor and aroma of its contents Job’s tragic circumstances caused fear and dread to seep out. You would have to read the rest of his story to discover that fear and dread were not the only feelings that became evident in Job while he experienced of one of the “worst nightmare come true” of all times.
Job wrestled with his feelings, God’s silence and the useless and misdirected council of his best friends. What sustained Job through it all? If you stay with the story to the end you will discover it was an ever growing passion to know God that sustained Job from going insane. This deeply grounded resolve in Job’s heart overshadowed any sense of fear or dread that may have pestered his thought life.
Did these feelings surfaced during his overwhelming crisis or was fear and dread the motivational force behind Job’s outstanding devotion? We might never know, but if the truth be told, we know we are susceptible to both situations. Sometimes you will experience feelings you didn’t know you had until a crisis strikes. For many, if their religious devotion was tested they may find fear or dread rather than faith and love at the source of their spirituality.
All humans have this fear as a result of the separation we suffered from our creator when Adam and Eve rejected God’s way and sinned. Apart of God’s comforting presence and the warmth of his love human’s fear and dread can be suppressed and ignored but never conquered or dissipated. This primal fear and dread can only be overcome with a restored relationship of love and trust with God the creator through the acceptance of Jesus, God’s way for salvation, as master of our life.
Even as a believer, I need to remember that no matter what I know or experience when bad things happen I will default to a survival mode, a reactionary stance, a primal sense of loneliness. There in my conceived abandonment and rejection, fear and dread may influence my perspective and response. It is there where I must resolve to stand firm on God’s word, his promises and the ways I know and have experienced of Him. As I keep still, trust and wait until the answer is made known my character is developed and my relationship with God is deepened.
By the end of the story we learn Job endured the trial by embracing his agony and by engaging God and his friends in open, unbarred dialogue about his condition. In the process, although he temporarily lost his friends, he gained a fresh perspective about himself and God. More significantly, he reached new depths in his devotion, and discovered uncharted grounds in his relationship with God (Job 42:1-6).
