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Good Plan, Job

Posted on February 7, 2024February 7, 2024 by Pam

Yesterday I had lunch with three friends, all widows. One has been a widow for 22 years. That is a long time to be alone when you chose a man who loves you but God calls him home. That might sound like an oversimplification but if God is sovereign, He gets credit for everything – whether we agree or not. Today I finished reading the Book of Job. Chapter 42 is refreshing after the full story of Job’s loss and then his friends. I use the term ‘friends’ loosely because God has a thing or two to say to them in this chapter, and then Job prays for them after all that has preceded. My three friends made a plan and there were some twists and turns that were unexpected and unwelcome. Job also had loss upon loss. Job knew God. In Psalm 54:5, my paraphrase, David says that God will recompense the evil. I don’t use the word in my everyday vocabulary, but recompense is about repayment, reward, and restoration. Psalm 18:20-21 states, “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath He recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.” I’m not sure it is right to qualify a great loss as evil but if Job’s losses were at the hand of Satan, we know he is evil. We blame God and then we reach for God. Job’s prayers for his friends restored them to friend status. Dying is not a fault but what about the betrayal that Job expresses?

Excerpts from Psalm 55:12-22 expresses steps when the loss is a betrayal and from a friend. “My companion and my familiar friend. We who had sweet fellowship together,” and “His speech was smoother than butter, But his heart was war; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.”

Job was at war.

Things to do: “As for me, I shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me.”, “I will complain and He will hear my voice. He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me,” and “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”

My favorite song today has the phrase, “I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered”. God heard Job and He answered. Psalm 56:11 speaks to this again, “In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” It is tradition that the Book of Job was written far in advance of the Psalms which offer healing balm for all the ills of our spirits. In the final Chapter of Job he discloses that he now has a better understanding. Job has listened to God and retracts what he has said. God decrees that he should now pray for his friends because they have “not spoken of Me what is right”. These were foolish friends. Job had a plan that went awry. My friends had plans that went awry. I had plans that went awry. It was a good plan. Job 42:10 says, “And God restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold.” We can expect increase as we honor God as we live with loss. He decides for the widows and the rest of us. Job enjoyed the plenty of family and wealth for another 140 years and died an old man, full of days. We, regardless of how the Job thing happens to us, should ask for the remaining days to be full.

"Thoughts from a genuinely evaluative mind."

Pam writes so that must make her a writer. Recently retired, she can now fill days with family, friends, missions, writing, creating, and showing up for whomever needs her. Pam loves the Lord and people. The Bible is God’s love letter to us (and who does not need more love) so she studies and writes some more.

Pam lives in the Pacific Northwest but was home-grown in Southern California. She attended San Jose Bible College and finished a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry at UCLA. She became a teacher, then a Research and Development Chemist, then she built two successful real estate businesses in two states. Pam also pursued study at Fuller Theological Seminary and just completed six months serving in missions abroad.

Pam has two amazing children, married to two precious in-laws, and five sweet grandchildren. Pam is a gifted connector and communicator and the Northwest has the perfect climate for staying inside and writing – or baking! She has been writing since a wee one and is currently converting many years of blogging, by topic, into ten books. The first is a collection from 2011 titled, Beautiful Enough. The second is a yearly day-timer titled, Weekly Planner - Lessons in Life, Glory, and Grace. Number three is in progress with the working title, Christmas Today.

Ten facts about Pam in no particular order:

  1. On the team that developed an insulation for the Alaskan oil pipeline.
  2. Loves looking at homes, decorating, and has flipped five homes.
  3. Likes being tall.
  4. Films have helped define her vocabulary.
  5. Comes from Colorado tenement farmers with history traced to Wales.
  6. Was lost but now is found.
  7. Baking makes her happy – as does eating sweets with coffee, of course.
  8. She thinks mission work is the most important work in the world.
  9. The church started in Rome so she is learning Italian.
  10. Pam is a work in progress!

“I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” Isaiah 46:4

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