"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:..." Job 13:15
Job sat among the ashes. His friends were terrible comforters saying nasty things about him. And from a purely human point of view, God had abandoned Job.
Yet, Job set his mind to trust God.
Job bore the burden of great loss, of illness, and now of bitter friends. I don't think anyone would deny that this was a heavy burden to bear. However, Job demonstrated in these words the secret behind Sabbath keeping.
What?
Yes. The Sabbath is about rest. The Sabbath day is a picture of the inner rest a person can receive when he has peace with God, fully trusting Him for his life. F. B. Meyer (an 19th Century preacher) put it this way:
The pause in the outward business of life was but a parable of that inner hush, which is not for one day but for all days; not for one race but for all men; not for the Hereafter only but for Now. (F.B. Meyer, The Secret of Guidance. © 2018 Merchant Books, p. 41)
The true strength of Job came through that trust in God's goodness. The decision made to do so enabled Job to wait in faith and not foolishly deny the existence or love of God. Job later says:
For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: (Job 19:25)
This doesn't mean Job didn't struggle. It doesn't mean he didn't feel hurt or abandoned. It simply means that settling in his heart to surrender his life to trusting God was a choice. One that took strength and faith to execute. He determined to push onto God the burden he was feeling, though he did so clumsily. He didn't understand, and he wanted understanding. He struggled to see the goodness of God in all of this, and that caused him to question God. But in the depths of his soul, he chose to trust.
Trusting when you can't see what will come is difficult. It is a tough exercise. But when you release you grip of worry on the unknown and open your arms abandoning your hold on your situation, leaving it wholly in God's hands you'll receive serenity. You'll receive that perfect, wonderous, awesome and amazing true Sabbath rest. Peace and joy will push out the fears, anxiety, torture, worry, handwringing, blame-casting, anger, tears, and whatever else you did when you weren't trusting God.
Job fought for this Sabbath rest, and discovered in the end, that the Lord would sustain him, even bless him. Not sure we can answer the question 'Why' in every situation we face, but we can answer each situation with trust in God's goodness, love, and willingness to carry our burdens.
"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22
