Placing the Problem ~ Job 30

“And now my soul is poured out within me, days of affliction have taken hold of me.” Job 30:16 ESV

“The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me.” Job 30:27 NIV

              One of the main difficulties in dealing with this life’s many moments of turmoil and tribulation is keeping the problem the problem.  Yes, many times, as an external problem confronts us with its fury and frustration, we unwittingly invite the problem into our lives to stay and rest a while.  And because of this, the problem that is vexing us so, now becomes a rather beloved part of the family fold.  Our problem sits with us at every meal, it accompanies us to ‘take your problem to work day’, and yes, our problem even attends church with us, sitting idly by tugging at our arm as we attempt to ignore it and raise a voice of praise to our Lord.  Yet why exactly are we so ready to internalize our vexation instead of keeping it where it belongs…outside our life, external to our world, a safe arm’s distance away from the treasure that lies within the bosom of our most precious internal world?  Yes, the problem with problems is that we just can’t put them (and keep them) where they belong.

              Nothing much has changed by chapter 30 of Job.  He is still childless, suffering a ruined marriage, had all of his physical possessions taken away, being unjustly accosted as a clueless sinner by his closest friends, and sits in the city dump, discarded by society and licking his wounds that have well since driven him to his knees in despair.  Yet around the mid-point of the book of Job, just as a well-placed fulcrum determines the balance of the long beam, we see Job’s fulcrum find the point of Godly reason.  Yes, hinged upon Job’s great faith, a door opens to Him that sees him stating a powerful faith-fueled truth that all believers must come to acknowledge…even if this earthly body ceases in the physical, I will one day see my God. (Job 19:25-26).  And it is upon this fulcrum that we find Job effectually, after 27 chapters of intense soul searching, place his problem where it truly belongs.

              You see, Job realized, just as we all must, the higher toll that life’s great trials and tribulations exact upon us.  If not properly externalized and compartmentalized, those problems will burrow deep down into our lives, becoming much more a part of us than God intended them to…and they will do soul damage.  Yes, the problems of this life can become much bigger than themselves when, just as Job, we find ourselves allowing them to vex not the physical, emotional, and mental realms of our existence, but strike at the very core of who we are…spiritual beings.  And as our problems seem to spiral out of control, they are not actually out of control at all.  They are indeed following a very well-intended pattern....one intended by the enemy of our souls to inflict maximum damage upon our walk with Christ.  And that maximum damage is ultimately dealt to see the follower of Christ suffer nothing less than a crisis of the soul.

              Today, keep the main thing the main thing and keep your problems well outside of your internal sphere.  And just what, you may be asking, is the main thing?  Well, if you have called on Jesus Christ and His redemptive work upon the cross to save you from the eternal punishment of your sin, then you have been bought from sinful slavery into eternal freedom.  And folks, when God says you have a room in His mansion in heaven (John 14:2), you can take it to the bank.  For the strongest bond that exists within the building blocks of this world are the promises of God.  For if He breaks one, He breaks them all.  And it is not within the nature or capability of God to break even one of His promises.  And if you have the promise of eternity in heaven worshipping at the feet of Christ, then what truly is your problem?  You see, by truly keeping your eyes, heart, and mind on the prize of salvation in Christ, the immediate result is that the problems of this world will be vanquished into the peripheral and not allowed to exist in the central.  Liken it to a horse wearing blinders to keep it focused on only what is important to its immediate task at hand.  The peripheral activities of this life will only distract said horse, eventually causing it to stray in its attention and focus.  The believer in Christ is no different as the things of this world can and will be well used in distracting us from the course and purpose Christ intends for us.

              Although I am not acutely aware of what trials, tribulations, and sufferings you are enduring in this day, I will be praying for you dear reader.  And that prayer will be that you put on the eyes of Christ today through abiding deeply in Him (John 15:1-17), affording you to properly see the problems of this world as they are…one day dying away just as this earthly body will as we move into eternity and into the loving gaze of the true lover of our souls.  The very One that loves us enough to come from heaven and purchase the souls of all believers with His very blood. Yes, dear brother and sister, one day our tears will be wiped away by the very hands that were nailed to that cross.  Keep your problems where they belong and keep your soul stayed on the day of Christ…for what a day that will be.

Rich blessings to you as you endure the trials of this life meant to strengthen your hope in Christ ~ Dan

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 5:1-5

"alone at sea", Farallon, Rio Hato, Panamá