Skip to main content

I Shall Come Forth as Gold

             But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. (Job 23:10) 

            Gulp. Help. Over the past two days, I’ve experienced a slow flash of inspiration. Yes, I know: “slow” and “flash of inspiration” don’t sound right together, but that’s often how ideas work. They are both slow and fast at the same time. It started with my finding the disks that I bought to make the signs for my windows. January begins 2024 and it’s only 16 days away.

          What rhymes with four? Nothing interesting suggests itself.

What ideas can I tie to twenty-four?

The first glimmer of light… twenty-four…karat …gold. Gold really isn’t my color. I prefer blue tones like silver, but OK, it’s a nice bit of fun.

Probably twelve hours later, today’s verse rose from the depths and latched hold of the 24-carats. Naturally, my heart sank. Does this mean I am going to have a miserable, trying, difficult year? Excuse me while I whine. “I don’ wanna!”

But… “I shall come forth as gold.”

I’m not sure I want to pay the price.

And then the logic kicks in. Did I not face challenges every other year of my life?  Do I really think I will walk down “Easy Street” in 2024? Is that even slightly realistic? Of course not. So the key here isn’t whether or how I avoid difficulties in 2024 but my attitude about them. Whether they make Job’s sufferings look like a leisurely stroll or Job’s sufferings were a million times worse, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is whether I hold on to the same assurance that he did. No matter what the trials, I will be the better for it when they are done.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more