How did I get here?

Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? — Job 2:10

Tiffani awoke in the pitch-black darkness of an Air Canada jet. Still wearing her seat belt, she’d slept while the other passengers exited and the plane was parked. Why didn’t anyone wake her? How did she get here? She shook the cobwebs from her brain and tried to remember.

Have you found yourself in a place you never expected? You’re too young to have this disease, and there’s no cure. Your last review was excellent; why is your position being eliminated? You were enjoying the best years of your marriage. Now you’re starting over, as a single parent with a part-time job.

How did I get here? Job may have wondered as “he sat among the ashes” (Job 2:8). He’d lost his children, his wealth, and his health, in no time flat. He couldn’t have guessed how he got here; he just knew he had to remember.

Job remembered his Creator and how good He’d been. He told his wife, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (v. 10). Job remembered he could count on this good God to be faithful. So he lamented. He screamed at the heavens. And he mourned in hope, “I know that my redeemer lives,” and that “in my flesh I will see God” (19:25-26). Job clung to hope as he remembered how the story began and how it ends. — Mike Wittmer

What situation fills you with agony and dread? How might you regain your bearings and live with hope and joy?

READ: Job 2:1-10

Father, You’re not surprised by what surprises me. You were good before, and You remain good now.

Bible in a Year: Psalms 116-118 and 1 Corinthians 7:1-19