“Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.” (Job 13:15) These words of the person in the Old Testament who epitomizes “suffering” came to mind today. Most of us know Job’s story of unmerited suffering and unrelenting faith. He stands forever as an example of what trusting God looks like in the midst of devastation and ruin; when hopes and dreams are crushed like rocks in a quarry. Many in this era of a viral pandemic can identify with him. The most recent numbers are mind-blowing: 1, 443, 946 cases, 86, 244 deaths and 312, 513 recovered. Projections don’t inspire hope for a major turnaround anytime soon. Those statistics are not static; in the time it takes to complete this blog, more people will have been identified as positive, and more will have died. On the surface, Suffering may seem to have secured its place in the new norm.
But what gives me increasing hope is the manner in which Trust is asserting itself in the annals of this 21st century pandemic. At the onset of the rising infections and deaths in a nation accustomed to its status as a world leader in quality health and medical care, the threat seemed minor. But as days became weeks and weeks months, the numbers kept growing. Over night it seems, Suffering took center stage; playing a role that aroused fear and dread.
As the initial shock began to wear off, and new protocols were instituted, we of the faith community (and others to be fair) drew upon the will to survive God created in us all. That creative, preserving spirit He instilled broke through the barrier Suffering depends upon to keep us fearful. We remembered that God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power and courage.
And with that spirit, Trust flourishes now and is growing stronger each day. Trusting God enables us to press on. We find strength in individual and collective efforts to do things differently, to realize a lot of what used to be normal wasn’t necessarily in our best interest. We’ve learned to do with less as the reality of how much we have had is more than we needed. And perhaps the greatest lesson we are learning is when we wait on God without worry, we elevate Trust to the starring role in this tale of a virus that sought to lay low God’s people. If we who trust the Lord demonstrate we can be cast into a fiery furnace or a lion’s den, and still survive, the timeless echo of Job will resound in us. Our boos will drive Suffering off the stage into the darkness from which it came. Our trust will be in God, irrespective of the trials of the moment. Yet though He slay us, we will trust Him still.
Love. Joy. Peace.