I had a challenge this week to read certain chapters in Job. I've read these before, but it was a particular challenge for the STRONG Journey that many churches in Cincinnati are doing - I am a part of this church journey as well and am loving it. You probably know the story - Job loses his children, his possessions, his servants, and even has health issues. He is grieving severely and questioning God. By the end of the book, however, God ends up blessing him with twice as much as he had before he lost all his possessions. He is blessed with many more children, and it even says that his 3 daughters were the most beautiful women in that land. He lived to see the 4th generation and died "old and full of years".
Redemption.
I LOVE IT.
Redemption is absolutely one of my favorite words. I LOVE redemption. If there's going to be redemption, you can press through pretty much anything in life. It's when we lose sight of this piece that we fall into despair and hopelessness. The belief in a God that REDEEMS is why I keep walking....and perhaps why you do as well.
But there is more.
I find that sometimes I begin to look at particular areas of life where I want/need redemption, and I start thinking of ways that I can make these things happen. How can I redeem this? How can I help God out? How can I change my circumstances? Now I don't want to diminish the fact that I DO think we should be moving, and that there is certainly a part on our end to find out where we need to "take off some roofs" in order to move in the direction God is leading us. Even in the Bible, the friends of the paralytic took off a piece of a roof and lowered their friend into the house, completely interrupting Jesus, in order to get what they wanted...healing. I pray regularly for God to show me where I need to "take off some roofs".
However, there is another principle that coincides with this one as well. And this is the idea that I can somehow muster up enough gumption to "fix" my situations. Well, perhaps I can....but do I want Danielle's fixings? Or do I want God's abundance? I have come to believe over a span of many years that when God blesses, He BLESSES. I don't see him giving meager, just enough to get by kinds of blessings. When He blesses, it is a blessing of excellence. I imagine this is because He is a God of excellence. When I look at creation, I see excellence. I look at my life, and the times that I have waited on him to come through, He came through with MORE than I thought I was going to get - Jason, my friends, my job, my house, etc. I look at these places and I wonder "Why do I question that He will bless well again?" It's almost as if I think He's going to say "Well, I know this isn't much, and it's certainly not what you were really wanting, but, here you go - I guess it's better than nothing." REALLY?? Do I really think that is God's way? When He blessed Job, it was DOUBLE what he had lost. God didn't just say "And Job was given really great daughters." NO - they were the most beautiful gals in the land! Was that even necessary!? I LOVE the extravagence! It was beauty and redemption - and redemption of abundance - not redemption of meagerness. I must cling to this in places of my life where there is waiting. In places of my life where things don't seem "quite right" and where I believe God has something different, new, beautiful. I need to continue to wait upon Him, be still and let Him fight my battles for me, while still asking where I need to take off a few roofs. He will bless with excellence. I will not be disappointed.
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