Yet As For Me...

             Yet as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last, He will take His stand on the earth. (Job 19:25)

           If you read the chapter, Job doesn’t seem to be in the mood to sing happy worship music. Of course, we know that he was impoverished, mourning, and ill. We also know that several friends showed up and did as ham-handed a job of comforting him as possible. This passage comes in the middle of one of his rebukes of those over-stuffed comforters. I can imagine him poking himself in the chest whenever he referred to himself.

          As I listened to Chris Tomlin and Don Moen this afternoon, I thought it would be so nice to be that fervent, that zealous regularly. The same is true with today’s passage. I wish I could poke myself in the check and vehemently announce, “Yet as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. And at the last, He will take his stand on the earth!”

          But few of us – maybe none of us – can maintain that level of energy output. We’d burn out. So most of the time, we’re more likely to say, “Yeah, what Job said is true. At least, I’d prefer if it were true.” We want to believe that we believe, but sometimes we’re just not sure that if the police came to arrest us for being Christians that they’d find enough evidence to convict us. If Jesus asked if we love Him, could we say, “Yes”? Maybe sometimes. And maybe those who are married have a benefit in this area because they deal with long-term love instead of the short-term infatuation that we sometimes mistake for love.

          Don’t worry; I’m not down in the doldrums. There’s no real pity party going on here. In fact, it’s a sort of anti-pity-party party. The point is that normal life doesn’t tend to involve all the “Rah! Rah! He’s our Man. If He Can’t Do It, No One Can!”

          In a sort of a parallel idea – some people think that if a person doesn’t speak in tongues, or lift his/her hand when he/she prayers or worships, or doesn’t somehow show how devoted and zealous they are, that they aren’t. If you want to do those things, go for it! But does that mean you can’t worship if you have a broken arm? Or if you can’t or don’t feel like lifting your hands?

          So as I look at today’s passage, I have to ask myself whether or not I can say it. I’ve just said it aloud, and I didn’t get hung up like I have with other verses. It’s not a feisty knowledge. Neither is it arrogant. I could be wrong. But it is a tenacious knowledge. Even if I don’t feel excited about it, and even if my body doesn’t do things that communicate that belief to you, maybe you have a different love language. The bigger point is to enjoy those times when you can say this passage with energy and fervor, but don't beat yourself up when you're less enthusiastic about it.