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Job: Suffering Becomes Hope under a Broom Tree
Selections from Job 1,2,19

Picture
     Gary Carr tells the story of Chippie the parakeet. Chippie never saw it coming.  One second, he was peacefully perched in his cage, singing sweetly; the next second he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over!  You see, his owner decided to clean the seeds and feathers from the bottom of his cage with the nozzle of her vacuum.  Just as she got it in place the phone rang, and she reached to grab it.  She’d barely said “hello” when sshhhwwwppp, Chippie got sucked in.  His owner gasped, let the phone drop, and frantically reached to turn off the vacuum.  She then unzipped the bag and carefully felt around until she found Chippie, alive but stunned, covered in heavy gray dust.  
     Panicking, she rushed to the bathtub with him and turned on the faucet full blast.  She held Chippie in that cold stream of water, power washing every side of him.  After a short while Chippie felt rather limp, so she stopped to examine him.  He was shivering, so turned off the faucet and did what any compassionate bird owner would do.  She got out her blow dryer, turn it to the highest setting and blasted Chippie with some really warm air. 
     Now, did Chippie survive his ordeal?  Yes, he did, but afterwards Chippie didn’t sing much.  He just sat on his perch, blinking a lot, staring off in the distance.   Don’t you feel so sorry for this poor parakeet?  With no warning he was put through one terrible experience another. It left the feathered fellow dusty, stunned and not at all O.K.  Do you think life can do that to us once in a while?   Have you ever been hit hard by a crisis?  Ever had a series of hardships or heartaches? Most of us know what it’s like to go from a normal day to coping with a sudden emergency or a tragedy.  Whatever phone call or knock on the door brings bad news is likely something we never saw coming.  We are as shocked and numb as Chippie. We can only sit there, blinking, no longer able to do much of anything.  
     Can you remember a time like that in your life?  After shock and probably some initial denial can come anger, and you begin to demand an answer from someone.  You need to understand why or how this horrible thing has happened.  Has that happened in your life?  It has in my own.  This morning we meet in the Scriptures a man named Job: although he was a God-follower who was well-respected and wealthy, none of that protected him from a series of senseless tragedies.  Without warning, news reached Job that he’d lost all of his livestock.  Still reeling, he got word a storm collapsed the building where all 10 of his children were enjoying a meal.  None survived.  Then painful boils began to break out on his skin from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. These back-to-back losses left Job a broken man, raw with grief.  He had stood and wept over 10 freshly dug graves, can you imagine that?   Then he looked across the plains and knew none of his livestock remained.  As for his illness, modern-day doctors believe it was black leprosy, a disease that kept people in constant pain.  There were many, many dark days of suffering for Job; how sharply they contrasted with the many years of blessings he’d experienced.
     In the 42 chapters of the Book of Job there are lessons we can glean for our own times of crisis and loss.   One of the first things we hear him say is: “Naked have I come into this world, and naked will I be when I leave it. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”  Those words cannot be uttered by a person unless their faith is solid.  Job believed that in the good times, God should be praised, and in the bad times, God should also be praised.  If you wonder how he was capable of doing that after his devastating losses, here’s the answer.  Over the years of his life, he learned that God is unchanging and His character is consistent.  He believed God was all-knowing and all-powerful - God was holy, wise and merciful.  None of those truths changed just because terrible things had happened in Job’s life; he didn’t blame God. 
      As the days passed, Job sat there in great misery, scratching his open, itching wounds all over his body with a shard of pottery.  He remembered how a broom tree was a place of shelter for some men he had known. That may be where he ended up sitting as he suffered.  A broom tree has bright green leaves, providing much-needed shade in a hot, arid land; it can be the only sign of life for miles around.  This desert tree survives long droughts because its roots go down so deep, they absorb moisture many feet below.  There is a spiritual lesson for Job and for us in a broom tree!  We need to make sure our roots of faith go down deep; when they are, we will be sustained.  We may be at a low point, but we will live.
     Then along came Job’s wife.  She too had suffered the same losses, but not the ravages of the skin disease.  She drew near to Job, who must have been nearly unrecognizable.  She didn’t come to console or comfort him, though; instead she spit out these words: “Why don’t you just curse God and die?“  His partner through life, the mother of their 10 children, the only person left in Job’s world, dealt him a fierce blow.  Job was taunted by his wife but he clung to God; his wife cursed God.  Clinging or cursing God - aren’t these two very common responses to deep grief?
       Job surely lamented; he shared his pain in very real ways with God, but he didn’t let his pain poison him.  Job had God as His helper and friend.  His wife, not so much!   Perhaps it was her instinct to isolate when she felt hurt.  Are you someone who likes to keep their distance and deal with your pain in isolation?   Sometimes a person can mend on their own, without turning to God or people, but for the vast majority full and lasting healing comes when they step out of their cocoon and allow others to see and know about their pain.  When we let others in, we may feel vulnerable at first, but having support as we struggle brings great benefits. If you’re hurting today and have been going it alone, please, I urge you to consider confiding in someone.  Just saying out loud what has been so hard can lift some of the weight from your heart.  And God is right there with us. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed.”
      As Job’s story continues, there are three friends that visit him; each offers reasons they think he is suffering.  Job finds a reserve of strength and answers each one.  But when he is alone again, his pain increases and so do his questions for God.  At one point he says: “God, you’ve uprooted my hope, just like a young tree wrenched from its soil.”  That image of being yanked up out of the ground, by the roots, reveals how helpless and hopeless Job felt.  
       He began to pose questions, begging God for a clear answer.  He said: “Where are you? Why are you ignoring me?”  He wanted God to answer him, explain why He’d allowed tragedy in his life.  Are you noticing that Job in his grief moves from calmness and faith to anger and despair?   When we’re suffering or grieving, we can and do move from one state of mind to another, and then back again.     
      Suddenly, a whirlwind swirled around Job and he heard God speak to him.  God asked Job 290 questions, demanding that he explain how animals were created, or the stars set in their place.  In a mighty rush these questions came, each revealing that God is in full control. God has power over all things, though we may never grasp how or why.
      When the winds quieted, so did Job’s doubts.  He understood that God is unquestionably good - he is for us and never against us.  Job was a changed man after that; he was able to live in a new way.  Though he believed he’d lost everything, God helped him discover that God is in control. He’d lost sight of that when he was in so much pain.  And God showed him that what he thought of as the end was not – when the Almighty is at work.  
      Listen to his faith declaration - many claim it is one of the most beautiful and powerful ones found in Scripture.  Job, while still in the crucible of his pain and suffering, said, “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives and at the end he will make his stand on earth. In my flesh I will see God.”  Job knew God, His Redeemer, was alive and eternal; he felt the sweet assurance that one day God would return to earth and come for His own.       
      What amazes me is that Job was still in the crucible of his pain, but his faith was shining!  His circumstances didn’t crush him; instead their weight produced a deeper faith.  He did suffer much, but with God’s help he was transformed.  He came through to the other side with new insights.  He knew what things mattered most, and what didn’t.  He lived more “in the moment”, not taking anything or anyone for granted.  He listened more and spoke less.  He noticed the world around him, every noise, movement, color, and scent.  He walked humbly with God, and with others.      
    In this world, we will all have unexpected crises, just like poor Chippie the parakeet.  He never saw it coming; he was sucked up, washed in cold water and then blow-dried.  Our crises can leave us just as stunned and blinking as that bird, can’t they?   We are in shock, denial, and a whole lot of pain.  But even if we are hurting from the top of our head down to the soles of our feet, know this:  God is watching over you.  In your good times and in your bad, God is good and is in complete control. 
       We can be like Job’s wife and blame God or we can trust God; we can curse God or cling to God.  The real difference lies in our roots.  How deep do our life’s roots go down in the soil? When the driest, toughest times come, God wants to be the one nourishing us back to life.  
      God is also our Redeemer; we will one day see Him face-to-face. Until then, as often as you can, look up; turn your attention to the One who made you and loves you, who knows your beginning, your end, and everything in between. And look around you! Haven’t you learned important truths in hard times? Pass on your wisdom.  Share what’s helped you, and point them to God.  Refresh others, the Bible says, just as you yourselves have been refreshed. Thanks be to God.  Amen.

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