Matt and Kellie, high school friends and then sweethearts after college, were married over five years ago in a special ceremony in the Colorado wilds. When Evan came along three years ago they didn’t stop enjoying the beauty of Colorado, but simply hooked him up for their hikes. So, it was beyond a shock when Kellie, in her early thirties, had a massive heart attack and died with Jess at her side. When something like this happens it tends to rattle the foundations of our faith. How can God, with all the marital strife in the world, and Hollywood stars changing partners faster than you can keep track, let this happen? Both parents are in shock, Jess lost his soulmate, and Evan lost the mother he will never really know. I have to run to Job for answers.
As you most likely know, Job had it all. Then, one day he had nothing. Everything was lost including his health, family, and wealth. Job’s friends jump to the conclusion that God must have exacted divine retribution on Job for something he had done. His friends judge and presume to know God. Whether Job was real or a story tool is immaterial. Our role in reading the book of Job is to put ourselves in the shoes of the friends, which we are whether we realize it or not.
I have sat here asking how God could rip Kellie away from Jess and Evan. Was it something Jess did or is he bearing the sins of the parents in some way? That’s all crazy talk because, like Job’s friends, I am questioning God. And how can any of us question God?
God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. Job 28:23
Only God understands God. Our role, however tough it may seem, is to be like Job and ride though the adversity. Not be like Job’s friends who question and judge. If you truly believe in God you believe in the promise of an afterlife. An afterlife that makes this life, no matter how rough and tough it may seem at times, pale in comparison. In fact, this life is just the opening act to a glorious eternity. No matter how mind-numbing it may be now, Jess, Kellie, and Evan will be reunited forever. Our job—and no pun intended—is not to play the role of so-called “friends” and judge and question the hand of God, but to be real friends in supporting the Jesses and Evans in our lives.
It’s not easy dealing with adversity in this life. But there is only one way to deal with it. Turn to God, not away from him. Stick with him as Job did.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken. Psalm 62:2
Please pray for Jess, Kellie, and Evan. Thanks!
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