But this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that this was in your mind: If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished. – Job 10:13-14

Today's Scripture Reading (July 8, 2021): Job 10

Early on in my ministry, I had a more experienced local pastor who sought me out, hoping to play a role as my mentor and confidant. I eagerly accepted the invitation, and he would often call me up and take me out for coffee and a talk. In those meetings, I spoke of the things with which I was struggling as an inexperienced pastor. I also had an associate pastor, who was also older and more experienced than I was, and she became an essential sounding board for the things that I wanted to do and the places that I felt God wanted me to lead his church.

I still remember the day when I realized that my two confidants were in deep conflict with each other. My mentor had just phoned to set up a Tim Horton's meeting for that afternoon, and I moved to my associate's office to tell her I was stepping out for a while. I remember the look that she gave me as she looked at me and said, "Be careful, Garry. I don't trust him." It was the first time that it had occurred to me that my mentor might not be on my side. Unfortunately, my associate proved correct. As those who opposed my desire to reach out to the community took their actions against me, I found my mentor using some of my confessions as weapons against me. It was an uncomfortable moment, but one that I think we have all experienced at some point in our lives. It is the moment when we realize that the one we have trusted couldn't live up to that trust.

It is the way that Job has begun to feel about God. God had created him and blessed him; he had garnered the trust of Job. But deep in God's heart was a secret that the Almighty had hidden from his creation; it was all just a trick. God was waiting for Job to fail so that he could inflict his punishment on his creation.

It is a complaint that we still make against God. We believe that life has somehow been a game that we are destined to lose. God will get his revenge on us, making us pay for our sin. But, in the story of Job, we know what Job didn't know. We know that God believed in Job and that everything that was happening to the prophet had nothing to do with his righteousness or lack thereof. The reality is that life happens, and good and bad fall on the evil and the righteous.

It is something of which we need to be reminded. Life happens. Maybe, sometimes, God is trying to get our attention, but that is not always the case. And it is in the fire of circumstance that our characters are forged. If there were no opposition, we would not be the strong people that God desires us to be. God does not inflict our lives with pain as my mentor did, but God will use our circumstances, whatever they might be, to forge us into the people that he needs us to be.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 11