Psalm 178 from Beyond Psalm 150
Granted limited authorization by God, Satan afflicts Job, taking away his possessions and killing all ten of his children. Job humbles himself—tearing his robe and shaving his head.
He falls to the ground and worships the Almighty.
From the angst of his pain, he succinctly summarizes the arc of his life, affirms God’s sovereignty, and blesses Yahweh.
Though his words are few, it may be all he can muster at this low point in his life.
What he says emerges as a psalm of lament.
Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked will I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh’s name.
Job 1:21 (WEB)
Reflections on Job’s Lament
Job didn’t realize that it was Satan who afflicted him. He assumed it was Yahweh’s doing. He also didn’t know that God placed limits on the harm Satan could inflict on him.
As with Job’s case, we’re seldom privy to what happens in the spiritual realm, seeing only what physically occurs around us.
Though we see in part, we can trust God, through faith, that the rest will work out (see Romans 8:28).
Do we trust God with our life—every part of it?
When disaster strikes, do we blame Yahweh or bless him?
May we learn from the life of Job and apply those insights to our life today.
Explore the other psalms—sacred songs of praise, petition, and lament—scattered throughout the Bible in Peter’s book Beyond Psalm 150.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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