Annie
Scriptures: Job:38-41
I have just heard a quote “Tell her not to give in, even when she doubts, tell her not to give in”. It’s spoken by a character in a story, who decides to walk 500 miles, from the south to the north of England, to see an old work colleague who is in a hospice with a terminal illness. With no preparation, no equipment, just an instant decision to go and see her, he simply begins walking and he sends her a message that she must wait, he will walk and she must wait.
It’s made me think about our journey through life. We may presume that we know exactly where we are going and what we are doing, but in reality we have no idea what our tomorrows may bring. Yet, we have the most amazing promises from our God, each of us with our own unique promise, that He does know and He cares about every detail of every person’s life. What we must do is not give in, not give up, just place our trust in our Known God who is holding together our unknown future, because to Him, it is absolutely known since He created it.
The Book of Job, in my possibly naive understanding, has some of the most precious and tender challenges from God that have been recorded for all those moments in our lives when we feel vulnerable, or angry. For all those times when our vision becomes cloudy, when our vale of tears threatens to swamp us, drowning us in its salty depths. It’s for those times that we need to listen to the Voice, almost demanding our attention, as He asks “where were you....; were you there when....” God, the brilliant Creator, Master of Invention, Provider of all we could ever need or want, reminds us of Who He is, not to belittle or mock us, but to open our eyes to show us just how much we can trust Him.
In such beautiful poetic language, God reveals just how magnificent and creative He is. He tells us in so much detail what He has done, the intricate detail of every snowflake, the precise timing of the gestation period for all the animals He has created. All of this to give us a world of beauty, of light and colour, and such unique diversity in the animal kingdom, each specifically and individually formed by their Master’s loving Hand. If He has taken such care to make His amazing imagination a physical reality, we can be utterly assured that He has taken the same care and unfailing precision in His creation of us. He has equipped us to be able to walk the narrow path He lays before us, even when we feel like giving up, within us is the Life that enables and strengthens us to keep walking.
He is the God who always goes before us, the One who guides and watches over us, He is always with us, bringing us to the home He has prepared for us in Glory with Him for all eternity. He created humanity with the ability to choose; either to believe that He is always and forever good, just and righteous, or to seek the fool’s gold that the enemy tempts us with that rusts, corrupts and melts away like the morning mist. We have been known by God before He began forming us in our mother’s womb, in timeless eternity we have been known and loved by Him before time itself existed.
It is time to look up and see the rainbow, to use the eyes that He has given us to see His Hand in the whole of creation in this broken but beautiful planet we call home. It is time to consider the stars, those tiny dots of light in the night sky that reveal His handiwork. You are not an accident or the result of some sort of mistake, you are a child of the Living God, known, loved and created by Him, to live forever with Him in everlasting love and joy.
Prayer: Abba Father, in humble adoration we bow before You, in amazement at the very idea that every good and perfect gift comes from You and You alone. Oh God we give You thanks for all of this, Your wonderful creation that we are an integral part of, in Jesus mighty Name and by the power of Holy Spirit. Amen