A Sane Declaration From An Insane Place

“For I know that my Redeemer lives……”
- Job 19:25

Job was experiencing what F. Scott Fitzgerald called, “the dark night of the soul.” Despair was seeking to find a foothold in his spirit and misery was searching for a resting place in his conscience. Job had experienced the kind of tragedy that could cause one to lose his or her mind and abandon memory. He had suffered catastrophic loss and what appeared to be an unrelenting personal attack. If enduring the loss of all his possessions and children were not enough, Job also had to withstand sores and boils that ravishing his body. In the midst of it all, he had to also bear an unsympathetic spouse and false friends who were convinced that his misfortune was a result of his sinfulness. Job was truly experiencing grief of the highest order. But from the depths of his desolation Job rebels against the spiritual onslaught. With hopeful tone, he declares, “For I know my Redeemer lives.”

Job refused to relinquish his hope in God. As he experienced the painful inconsistencies of this world, he believed in the constant and consistent presence of a faithful God. There are times when, in the eyes of the non-discerning, hope in God seems irrational and even insane. The real test for a believer is not whether one can be hopeful in times of plenty and prosperity, but can one remain hopeful in times of chaos and calamity? This is the true test! Given the horrors of this world and the unpredictability of life it is easy to question the saneness of hopefulness. But for the believer hopelessness is true insanity. When you find yourself coming under attack and it feels like your back is against the wall, how will you respond? Will you sigh, surrender, and throw in the towel or will you seek to fight the “good fight” of faith? Will you believe, when nothing seems to support your belief? Or will you stand resolutely and confidently, like Job, and declare to the world that your redeemer lives?

Peace and Blessings,

Pastor Mike