Countless Things

Year 6 - Day 247: Today, I am grateful for countless things. 

A few years ago, my girlfriend, Julie, inspired me to save "awesome" for God. For something to be deemed awe inspiring, most often has a glimpse of the hand of God. It is my own self imposed challenge with no right or wrong attached. It has helped me to really sit back and consider the moments in my world where the hand of God is so near and so bold that "awesome" is brought out to glorify his goodness. 

Job, who suffered more than most of us can imagine on our worst day, is a powerful example of trust in the valleys and gratitude in the good times. The book of Job, in the midst of the deep sorrows and laments, is a book that points the mighty power and wondrous love of our God. Verses like this one:

He does great things too marvelous to understand.
    He performs countless miracles. -Job 5:9

On the Nichole Nordeman project "Songs inspired by The Story" album, Broken Praise is Job's song. It was not a favorite at first, but perhaps another season of broken praise illuminated the power in the lyrics and music. Todd Smith of Selah sings the song. It begins: 

"If one more person takes my hand and tries to say they understand,tells me there's a bigger plan that I'm not meant to see. If one more person dares suggest that I held something unconfessed,tries to make the dots connect from righteousness to easy street." 

Job was the most Godly man walking the planet at the time God allowed Satan to test him. It was horrible. Beyond what most could endure. Still, he remained faithful. Even when he was broken. When Todd Smith was asked to sing this song on the compilation project, he and his wife had recently lost a baby. He knew the brokenness of the loss of a child. He had glimpsed Jobs heart. You can feel it in the song as it builds. It is powerful. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6PP-YS-FqU

Job knew in his heart that when bad things happened, there was evil involved in an imperfect work. He trusted when most would have quit. He had his moments of deep discouragement and anger. Who wouldn't after losing your entire family and the wealth you had honestly accumulated? But Job didn't turn from God, even when human doubts surfaced in his very real suffering. 

Job stayed true and God blessed him in the end beyond anything he ever imagined. His faithfulness was not overlooked or forgotten. Did the grief still echo when he remembered his first wife and their family together? His first love and his biggest loss? He was human. 

We don't go through hard stuff without a few scars. Still, I think that God was with him and the deep sorrow changed... with time and with tears shed... to melancholy moments of sweet remembrance. Job plowed through the grief and God did not abandon him at his darkest moments. Job found a beautiful, broken praise.

Job found goodness and joy after the countless troubles. The blessings poured out on his faithful life, after that season of trials, were too many to count. He wasn't excused from the hardships. He trusted God and was obedient through suffering... and survived them. In fact, he thrived as a result of all he learned. 

We can't count the goodness and grace God extendeds to each of us over the course of a lifetime. His faithfulness was, is and will always be one of the great wonders of this life. We can seek him in the brokenness and find strange joys in the broken praise. 

The earth is just the right distance from the sun. The atmosphere is perfect for our lungs. The fresh water sustains us and the salt water provides so many good things for life as we know it. The seasons change and the earth renews itself each spring after winter grants it some rest.  

To make a New Testament connection... 

"Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written." -John 21:25 

We could write for days and days and never exhaust His goodness. 

Today, I am grateful for countless things.