For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
Job 19:25-27
The hope of a life after life with God is what gave Job any kind of perspective to keep him going. There is intense suffering. There is a suffering that makes us want to despair of life altogether. But there is no suffering that every takes away the kind of hope that Job is describing. He is able to sort through all the pains and the poor advice simply because he knew that his Redeemer lives.
When all around crumbles and decays, God is still Who stands on the earth. My life changes. I know this. I have had more medical concerns this year than ever. I have watched my own daughter suffer through depression and the agony of losing hearing in an ear. I have been powerless to help her. She has struggled to see God in any of her current suffering, and all I have are words right now.
And I cannot help my own decaying flesh. Even now my degenerative discs are killing me as I sit and type. The only relief is to get up and walk around every five minutes or so.
But it is bearable in the light of eternity. Still I have to say, if I was a naturalist, I would check out, because pain is no fun! Yet knowing that it is momentary affliction brings hope and conviction. But the pain and the loss remain, and will probably always do so in the two or three decades that I have left (God willing).
God, I know my eyes will see you. And it makes all this worth it, I believe. Keep me focused with truth until that time. Amen
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