Jump

“But who can teach a lesson to God,
the supreme Judge?”
Job 21:22 NLT
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Trust is one of those things that I think I have nailed until something tough happens. If I were walking around my house with a parachute on my back, I’m sure I would not be worried sick about the potential that it won’t open when I trip and fall. The ground is less than six feet from my face. However, if I were told to jump from an airplane with that same parachute, “worried sick” would be an understatement.

What about trusting God? How does my faith fare when there is no threat to my identity, family or faith? I’d like to think that I do okay when that’s the case. However, at the mere suggestion of a problem, my knee-jerk reaction is to make a plan. My brain’s emergency light goes off and I start picturing all the ridiculous worst case scenarios. I become short with my husband and kids because, well, if you could see the natural disaster occurring in my head, YOU WOULD NOT BE ASKING ME TO MAKE YOU A THIRD PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH!!!

Job’s friends respond to Job’s struggle with the same urgency and intensity. They repeat their same advice to Job with more intensity, snark and urgency each time. Job is the one who keeps his cool and speaks with love and logic when he reminds them that not everything they are saying is rooted in God’s truth. One of his friends keeps insisting that Job’s suffering is because he must be a wicked man who needs to repent. Job totally keeps his cool and reminds his friend:

“But who can teach a lesson to God, the supreme Judge? One person dies in prosperity and security, the very picture of good health. Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life. Both alike are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same worms.” (Job 21:22-26)

Even amidst physical pain and emotional duress, Job can still point out that what our life looks like from a human perspective doesn’t always match up with the divine perspective of our Creator. We don’t know the hour of our death and it’s form may very well have nothing to do with our lifestyles or choices. In suffering or in health, we are in God’s loving hands.

Whether my face is 6 feet from the ground or 6,000, I need to remember that God is my great, perfect and all-knowing parachute.

Challenge: Whenever I feel the what-if’s start whirling in my mind, I will *stop myself, take a deep breath and say the words “God’s got this.” *Repeat as often as necessary!

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Dear Lord, you are God over all that is, was and will be. You care for us all the your children, regardless of our financial status, health, gender, or placement on Santa’s list. Please help me to put my faith and trust in you at all times and in all circumstances. Remind me to breathe and surrender my worries to you. Amen.