Finding Hope in Despair
Job 14:14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Although Job maintained his integrity through his crisis, this does not mean that he didn’t have thoughts of hopelessness. God knows what we are made of (see Ps. 103:14)! We don’t have a God who is disconnected from our emotions, but He knows how we feel (see Heb. 4:15)! He knows the pains and heartaches associated with our griefs and sorrows! God is not caught by surprise, nor has He lost control.
However, when we are in the midst of the storm, things look so out of proportion that it’s very easy for hopelessness and despair to set in. Job was ready to die! He basically said, in a nutshell, “I’m just going to sit here and wait to die!” He was beginning to allow his circumstances to shape his attitude, instead of the other way around, and this is a very dangerous place to be! He asked, “If a man die, shall he live again?” His attitude was this, “Once it’s over, it’s over!” This is such a gloomy conclusion for one to make who, several chapters later, will be given back twice what he had before!
If at this moment in his emotional breakdown Job could have seen a glimpse of the bright future ahead of him, he no doubt would have seen things differently! Friends, we MUST remember that, no matter how bad it may get circumstantially in our lives, hope still lives, and we CAN live again!
The fact is, one thing Job had right was this: God wants us to die! He wants us to die to self! Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live!” (see Gal. 2:20). God has a way of stripping us down to nothing but HIM, so that, when we finally die to self, we are then resurrected into newness of a life of anointing, favor, and a double-portion of God’s best!
Instead of questioning God’s purpose, let us yield to it, allowing this appointed time of death to pass so that we can be renewed again in the Power of His might! “God, grant me the desire to die to self, and wait patiently for it to occur, ‘till my change come’!” ~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Although Job maintained his integrity through his crisis, this does not mean that he didn’t have thoughts of hopelessness. God knows what we are made of (see Ps. 103:14)! We don’t have a God who is disconnected from our emotions, but He knows how we feel (see Heb. 4:15)! He knows the pains and heartaches associated with our griefs and sorrows! God is not caught by surprise, nor has He lost control.
However, when we are in the midst of the storm, things look so out of proportion that it’s very easy for hopelessness and despair to set in. Job was ready to die! He basically said, in a nutshell, “I’m just going to sit here and wait to die!” He was beginning to allow his circumstances to shape his attitude, instead of the other way around, and this is a very dangerous place to be! He asked, “If a man die, shall he live again?” His attitude was this, “Once it’s over, it’s over!” This is such a gloomy conclusion for one to make who, several chapters later, will be given back twice what he had before!
If at this moment in his emotional breakdown Job could have seen a glimpse of the bright future ahead of him, he no doubt would have seen things differently! Friends, we MUST remember that, no matter how bad it may get circumstantially in our lives, hope still lives, and we CAN live again!
The fact is, one thing Job had right was this: God wants us to die! He wants us to die to self! Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live!” (see Gal. 2:20). God has a way of stripping us down to nothing but HIM, so that, when we finally die to self, we are then resurrected into newness of a life of anointing, favor, and a double-portion of God’s best!
Instead of questioning God’s purpose, let us yield to it, allowing this appointed time of death to pass so that we can be renewed again in the Power of His might! “God, grant me the desire to die to self, and wait patiently for it to occur, ‘till my change come’!”