Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave.
~Job 1:20-21 NLT
At the moment, they were bumped around by life.
Saturday. A theme park one hour away from our home. And why? To celebrate one of our grandsons’ birthdays. I didn’t care about any of the arcade games, nor do I ride rides, so I walked around with my wife and watched our grandkids have a good time.
But some of the rides had a height requirement that most of our grandsons didn’t meet. In particular, the go-karts that went a little faster than the go-kart ride they qualified for. What was the solution? To get their moms to ride with them. Actually, to drive for them. They would just be passengers.
The rest of us stood to the side and watched as two adults with their respective sons drove wildly around the track, speeding around curves they should have slowed around, sliding sideways, and bumping into anyone else who tried to pass them. It was a sight to behold. The expressions on their faces matched the adrenaline that pumped through their bodies like blood through veins. But the bumps didn’t bother them. Each just wanted to win—at any cost.
Life also has a way of bumping us around. Job discovered that. In what many theologians consider the oldest book in the Bible, we read of Job and how he was bumped around because of a contest between God and Satan. Satan accused Job of being a goody-two-shoes, but only because God never allowed him to be bumped around—so Satan said. Thus, God gave Satan permission to bump him around a bit to prove otherwise.
When the bumps come, we can slow down, speed up, or maintain the course. Job maintained the course. He never accused God of anything, nor did he become bitter and walk away from God. And in the end, when God didn’t explain the reason for Job’s battle, Job settled for the lack of information.
But if the bumps get rough enough, following Job’s example can be difficult.
Whether we understand the bumps or not, remembering that God is sovereign, never makes a mistake, and always has our best interests at heart helps us take the bumps better. And when we recall those important facts, we’ll find ourselves drawing closer to God rather than running from him.
Like Job, we rarely know the reasons behind our bumps either. Our job is first to ensure that personal sin hasn’t brought on the troubles. Otherwise, we trust that God knows what he is doing. In the end, Job recognized that God’s ways were higher than his understanding. An admirable conclusion.
When life bumps you around, maintain your course. Then, use the bumps to get closer to God and grow spiritually.