The Place for Brutal Honesty

Note: Today's devotion seemed like it took forever to write. Not sure if that makes it any better or worse than other devotions. It is what it is.

Scripture Passage that Caught My Attention Today: Job 1:20-21 Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Observation: Some believe Job was a real human being and that his story was a real human story. Others see the story of Job as an extended parable that goes on to make an important point. Either way, Job’s willingness to faithfully deal with the challenges of life is admirable.

Application: Yesterday in the adult Sunday School discussion we were asked to describe times/situations when we feel like God is really close. My response had to do with my trust in God’s ability to handle my brutal honesty. Whenever I find myself at a loss as to how to proceed in life, my go-to method of recovery is to open up a blank word-processing document and just let the words flow as a direct reflection of how I am feeling what I am thinking, etc. The expressions are phrased as if they are prayers to God because, well, they are. But they are not so much requests for things but, rather, just an open sharing of who I am at that moment. It’s a time/place where I can simply share whatever, not because it’s necessarily right or wrong but just because it is what it is at that point in time. It’s amazing how much better I usually feel afterwards. Often times I don’t even keep the documents. The feelings, whatever they may be, don’t tend to linger once they have been adequately expressed in the trusted relationship between the one Triune God and myself.

Job, upon hearing of his plight, pours out some brutal honesty of his own—“Naked I came…naked I shall return…the Lord gave…the Lord has taken away…blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Job’s utterance is remarkable. Although close readers of the story will note that it was Satan who took away Job’s belongings and family and such, it’s also true that God allowed it to happen. Some might call that divine negligence; God knew something bad was about to happen and didn’t endeavor to stop it. But Job doesn’t see it that way. Job believes God can do whatever God wants to do and Job will just need to suffer through it.

Of course, this raises all kinds of theological questions about God’s role in human suffering. Who really causes what, and why? For now, however, it’s enough to know that God can handle the honest outpourings of our heart. Ironically, that may be more important than the answers we sometimes seek.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for being there and for being willing to listen to the sometimes earnest ponderings of our heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(readings today included: Job 1-2, Acts 6-7)