It is a huge danger to pretend that awful things do not happen.
But you need enough hope to keep going.
I am trying to make hope.
Flowers grow out of darkness. ~Corita Kent
This week would be a very easy week to gloss over very important spiritual truths in order to glorify the easy “God” fix. We do this a lot! I call this “wrapping it all up and putting a big bow on it!” Those pretty bows help us feel affirmed and serve to make us “feel good.” But rarely does it help us grow into deeper, more thoughtful spiritual people like Job!
Job’s friends argued with him for many long chapters telling him to repent. There are many ways persons have defined repentance. In this context it seems to mean "turning from sin." Job's friends just couldn’t envision the reality that Job was suffering without reason. Haven’t we all sometimes thought that people must have done something to invite the suffering they are experiencing? There is just something about the human mind that believes if we are good, good things happen to us and if we are bad, bad things happen to us.
Let us remember the book of Job is a story, not a history lesson. It is a story about a God who is bigger than any of us can envision or imagine! And we are invited with Job to cry out, “Now I have seen you.”
When you are ready I invite you to spend a few moments in the silence to prepare your heart to receive the Word of God and to open your inner eye to “see” God as you prayerfully consider the Scripture passage for this week. Breathe deeply and settle into your soul with a simple breath prayer. Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables)
Breathe in … Eternal One (pause) Breath out … I see you! (pause)
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| © Cindy Serio October 2010 |
and when you are ready to move deeper into the text ...
Pray: Eternal One, you created the world and you created me. You are bigger than I can envision. Help me to see you with eyes that honor you and with help me to speak of you with words that glorify you. Amen.
Step 1: Lectio … Reading Read Job 42:1-6, 10-17 silently to yourself twice, slowly and reverently. Listen for a word or phrase that speaks to you where you are in your spiritual life. Know that as you move through Lectio the illumination of words/thoughts might change and that is ok ... simply move where Spirit leads. Gently focus on the word or phrase that arises for you in any given reading. Repeat it several times and allow it to speak deeply into your heart and mind all the way to your soul.
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
(The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice ™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society)
Job answered the Eternal One. Job: I know You can do everything; nothing You do can be foiled or frustrated. You asked, “Who is this that conceals counsel with empty words void of knowledge?”* And now I see that I spoke of— but did not comprehend— great wonders that are beyond me. I didn’t know. You said, “Hear Me now, and I will speak. I’ll be asking the questions, and you will supply the answers.”* Before I knew only what I had heard of You, but now I have seen You. Therefore I realize the truth: I disavow and mourn all I have said and repent in dust and ash. The Eternal restored the fortunes of Job after he prayed for his friends; He even doubled the wealth he had before. All of his brothers and sisters, along with those he had known earlier, came and shared meals with him at his house. They sympathized with him and consoled him regarding the great distress the Eternal had brought on him. Each guest gave him a sum of money and each, a golden ring. The Eternal One blessed the last part of Job’s life even more than the first part. He went on to possess 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also fathered 7 more sons and 3 more daughters. He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch. Nowhere in all the land could one find women as captivatingly beautiful as Job’s daughters, or as independently wealthy: their father gave them each a share of the family inheritance along with their brothers. After all this, Job lived 140 years. He lived to see his children and their children and so on, to the fourth generation. Then Job died, old, and satisfied with his days.
Pray: Eternal One, you created the world and you created me. You are bigger than I can envision. Help me to see you with eyes that honor you and with help me to speak of you with words that glorify you. Amen.
Step 1: Lectio … Reading Read Job 42:1-6, 10-17 silently to yourself twice, slowly and reverently. Listen for a word or phrase that speaks to you where you are in your spiritual life. Know that as you move through Lectio the illumination of words/thoughts might change and that is ok ... simply move where Spirit leads. Gently focus on the word or phrase that arises for you in any given reading. Repeat it several times and allow it to speak deeply into your heart and mind all the way to your soul.
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
(The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice ™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society)
Job answered the Eternal One. Job: I know You can do everything; nothing You do can be foiled or frustrated. You asked, “Who is this that conceals counsel with empty words void of knowledge?”* And now I see that I spoke of— but did not comprehend— great wonders that are beyond me. I didn’t know. You said, “Hear Me now, and I will speak. I’ll be asking the questions, and you will supply the answers.”* Before I knew only what I had heard of You, but now I have seen You. Therefore I realize the truth: I disavow and mourn all I have said and repent in dust and ash. The Eternal restored the fortunes of Job after he prayed for his friends; He even doubled the wealth he had before. All of his brothers and sisters, along with those he had known earlier, came and shared meals with him at his house. They sympathized with him and consoled him regarding the great distress the Eternal had brought on him. Each guest gave him a sum of money and each, a golden ring. The Eternal One blessed the last part of Job’s life even more than the first part. He went on to possess 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also fathered 7 more sons and 3 more daughters. He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch. Nowhere in all the land could one find women as captivatingly beautiful as Job’s daughters, or as independently wealthy: their father gave them each a share of the family inheritance along with their brothers. After all this, Job lived 140 years. He lived to see his children and their children and so on, to the fourth generation. Then Job died, old, and satisfied with his days.
Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving
Read the passage a third time slowly.
Continue to focus on your word or phrase
(even if a different emphasis has emerged)
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What images emerge in your imagination?
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you through this word.
Watch for God working in your life!
Step 3: Oratio … Responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer.
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention.
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires
Speak the words you need to speak to God!
Step 4: Contempatio … Resting
Allow yourself to rest in the silence.
Allow your mind to settle into the silence.
When you feel the time to move on ...
Pray … Eternal One, I see you! … Amen
Cindy's Meditation ... Eternal One, before I knew … before I knew YOU, I didn’t know myself. And now I know … the more I know you the more I know I don’t know you. You are vaster than anything known to humanity. And that is somewhat comforting … the closest I come to knowing you is knowing silence. In the silence there is some way that I touch you … I see you. And you are beautiful! Alleluia! Amen!
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