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At this, Job got up and tore his robe, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship.
Job 1:20 NIV

A season of change, yep, definitely in one of those. And I see more changes coming. So what’s my response? I’d like to say after all that I have been through; my faith is so strong I immediately embrace whatever change comes along.

Yep, I’d like to be able to say that…

So how do we embrace the changes that come along in life, especially those that we know will be difficult?

Maybe I am weird but I absolutely love the book of Job. I remember turning to one of my friends at my husband’s memorial service and saying, “Wow, I get the book of Job in a whole different way now.” It is so hard to even put it into words, but as I have matured in my faith, because of the blessing of the trials in my life, I have a much different perspective now. I love the beginning of Job; how the whole thing started with the Lord asking Satan if he had considered his servant Job. Joy bubbles up in my heart when I remember that Satan can’t just sneak up and attack us out of the blue. God allows it. The God who sees me just as He saw Job – blameless and upright.

He allows me to be used because He knows the end from the beginning, He knows I will not fail.

Standing in the middle of my husband’s memorial service, surrounded by people, that truth was embedded in my heart forever. I realized then and there, no matter how awful the days to come would be, I would not fail. What a profound relief, what an unimaginable joy, a treasured gift, in the midst of suffering!

Even having that truth deeply embedded in my heart, my response to new challenges is not always “Hip, hip hooray, let’s go!” Sometimes I grieve what or who I have to leave behind. But once again, I turn to Job for guidance.

When Job experienced losses in his life, he mourned.

The scripture tells us he tore his clothes and shaved his head… the outward signs they used to indicate they were in mourning. But then scripture goes on to tell us then he fell to the ground and worshipped. Sometimes we have to mourn for what has passed, but after we mourn, we move forward. And like Job, we need to fall down and worship.

I worship my Father because I know whatever difficulty I may encounter, I am covered by His love for me.

And His love for me, which is so beyond anything I can comprehend, was demonstrated beyond anything I could have ever asked, in that He would bear the shame of the Cross for me. God is the One who watches over me each and every day. He is the only One who knows the number of hairs on my head. (Matt 10:30) And He is the One who allows the challenges in my life so that I may learn perseverance so that I might develop character, so that I might become mature and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:4) I worship my Father because He is the author and the perfecter of my faith. (Hebrew 12:2) I love Him because He first loved me. (1 John 4:19)

And I embrace each new challenge, maybe not immediately, but I do embrace it, not because of who I am or what the change may bring, but because of who He is!

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You for who You are and we submit our lives to You. We are so grateful for Your faithfulness, Your goodness, and Your mercy, but most of all for Your love. Amen.