NOBODY KNOWS?

Job 23:8-12
8 But if I go to the east, He is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find Him. 9 When He is at work in the north, I do not see Him; when He turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of Him. 10 But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. 11 My feet have closely followed His steps; I have kept to His way without turning aside. 12 I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.


As a senior in high school, I was having the time of my life. I was on the varsity soccer team, was editor of the school newspaper, and was looking at colleges to attend. But during the Christmas break, I became tired and fatigued, and eventually found out that I had Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. My family was devastated.

After going through about a year of chemo, I went into remission. But less than a year later, the leukemia came back. The only option available now was a bone marrow transplant. Not having any matching siblings, they took my own marrow, cleaned it out,
and started the transplant process. I had a 20-percent chance of surviving the BMT.

While I was in the hospital in Virginia, 6 hours from home, and with no family around, I became depressed and lonely. I would pray and pray to God, but I wasn't sure if He heard. I started to wonder if He even knew what was going on with my condition. Where was God when I needed Him?

Just like Job, I was looking all around for some mighty work or word from God to give me hope. But God had another plan. He did not send trumpets and angels with glorious signs and miracles but He was doing a greater work in me. "Know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance," wrote James (1:3). It was only by testing my faith that He could strengthen my faith.

In order to make gold pure, the refiner has to put it through the fire to allow the impurities to rise and be removed. The gold is allowed to cool, then is placed in the flames and cleaned again. This process takes several firings before the gold finally
becomes pure.

How poignant a picture of how God works in us. And the greatest part is, He knows what we are going through. --Robbie Parsons, West Virginia

DESTINATION POINTS

* How have I reacted during tough times?
* Looking back, how have I become more spiritually mature through my deepest trials? How does this encourage me for future struggles?

LINKS:
Knowing God Through Job
http://www.discoveryseries.org/sb141/

bottom line: God knows all about our deepest problems.

soul journey