“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me” Job 19:25-27
Faith is a funny thing. Sometimes it is expressed in action, sometimes inaction. It can compel people to blow themselves up taking the lives of others, or it gives another the strength to endure torture or murder without raising a hand in violence. For some it is easy to find while for others it is a strange and mysterious unknown. Faith can compel us to ask for the impossible, dream the unimaginable, and reach beyond our ability to grasp. It all depends upon where you place your faith. In the New Testament Jesus consistently calls for people to have faith in him. The original Greek verb for this faith can be roughly translated; "put your full weight on." What Jesus is saying really, is "let me carry you".
How far can faith bend before it breaks? I've thought about this a great deal in reading Job, would I give up if I were faced with the circumstances Job faced? Job, even feeling that God had cursed him had faith that a Redeemer was coming, and that though he might be dead, he would see him face to face. For those of us who follow Jesus faith is not solitary. Job was not placing his faith on an idea, principle, or far off notion. He placed his faith on a person.
The closest thing I have ever experienced to this kind of desperation happened five days after my son Gabriel was born. Gabe was born a month early with complications and was in the NICU. Michelle and I were on our way to the NICU for Gabe's afternoon feeding when she began to feel short of breath. I was set into the feeding to be there for our son while Michelle's mother took her to the doctor's office next door to get checked out. The plan was for her to join me after in the NICU. Gabe's feeding did not go well that afternoon and I learned that he had lost more weight than expected. My phone rang... "How far are you from the Emergency Room?" My mother-in-law asked in a controlled but fearful voice. I ran down the hall and entered the room just in time to hear the doctor say to my wife that she was suffering from congestive heart failure and they needed to admit her immediately. Calmly I assured her that all would be well and then stepped outside to "make a couple calls". I snapped... the very real possibility of losing my whole family overwhelmed me. I sobbed on the phone to my friend Tim. I remember thinking then, "how much more can I take?" Our friends, Karen and Dave, came to pray for our family and I leaned on them for support. Every breath was labored, every meal tasteless, and every day seemed like a week.
In the end Gabriel's feedings improved and his weight went up. Michelle's blood pressure went down and the fluid that had surrounded her heart and lungs abated. All was well and we made it. I wonder now; was it my faith that got me through? I'm not so sure... Maybe it was the faith of others, representing Jesus to me, that held up my weight in prayer. Job rested the weight of his crushed soul on a redeemer he trusted would come even though he could not see him at the time. We are not a people of solitary faith, but a faith dependent upon Jesus and supported by one another. May we be faithful in holding people up as Jesus' hands and feet today.
In Jesus' Name.
Amen
