Job It Up.

I grew up on a horse farm, and the expression “Cowboy up” was used frequently and in pretty typical conversations.  It means (for those of you unfamiliar with the expression), basically, that you stop whining, toughen up, and get right back on the horse that has bucked you off and keep on going.  Thrown off, stepped on, hurt, or maimed? Cowboy up!

So, following that basic thought pattern, Blaise and I have recently adopted the slogan “Job it up” for this season of our life.  Again, for those of you unfamiliar with Job’s story (which coincidentally I studied over the summer while in Uganda…perhaps as a way to prepare me for the season of life immediately following Uganda), here’s his story in a nutshell.  Job was a very wealthy, yet very righteous man who was faithful in prayer and offerings to God.  Satan noticed Job and his faith in the Lord and told God that Job had such faith only because of his blessings and protection from God, and that if forced to suffer, Job would curse God.  God removed His hand from Job, and allowed Satan certain freedoms in attacking him.  By the end of the assaults, all of Job’s family, wealth, and health had been stripped from him.  His response to each blow that Satan dealt him, however, was to praise the Lord.  His faith was tested and proved pure and unshakable.

So, as Blaise and I walk through some heady stuff right now, we remind each other often to Job It Up…to be thankful for the miracles we have witnessed, the calling on our lives, and God’s grace and mercy, which is sufficient.  By telling each other to Job It Up, we are also reminding each other that in everything we do, our purpose is to glorify God just like Job did by his righteous outpouring of praise to the Lord in response to the horrible suffering he was forced to endure.

Now, don’t misunderstand me…we know that our troubles PALE in comparison to Job’s and our walks of faith are messy and sometimes a little shaky, but we know that Satan is after the same thing from us that he was after with Job (and that he’s after with all believers): our faith.  He has used our families against us, he has attacked us physically, some of which has resulted in additional financial burdens, and he has definitely made some not-so-subtle spiritual attacks on my subconscious (aka dreams).

We know that to end this mess we only have to turn against God…or maybe we simply have to give up the pursuit of our calling in South Sudan.  Either way, we also know that the war is already won and we are on the winning team, so we aren’t giving up…we are going to Job it up!