Examining Job’s Ultimate Optimism is Good For Transitions

Back in about 2013 God led my wife and me on an unplanned transition to the daily life we now lead in Brazoria County, Texas. That was a shocker, but I’ll save the details for a later post.

I mention it now because, well, The Transition is when I first started daily scripture reflections on this site.

Morning after morning, for the better part of a year, I contemplated the scriptures in the daily Upper Room publication, and God helped me apply them to my life — and to The Transition. (You can reflect on those reflections in my “Spiritual Reflections” article category.)  Many friends told me the daily writings were an inspiration, but, I’ll be honest, I wrote them for me.

It’s funny. As The Transition settled down, so did the posts. Eventually they settled to nothing. (Careful readers will note that I wrote only three in the first half of 2018, and none in 2016-17.)

Well, it’s probably not going to result in Cheryl and me changing locale again (emphasis on probably), but I am in the middle of Another Transition these days. (More on that probably coming in another post but, for now, suffice it to say I’d been planning for this month to be the start of Year 3 as a teacher/coach at Brazosport Christian School. Not going to happen. Looks like I’m back to freelance writing full-time. Though God also may have other paths for me, too.We’ll just have to see. )

So, as God would have it, I’m back to regular posts about scripture.

But this time — because an awesome neighbor of mine recently approached me about starting a regular Bible study — I’m billing these posts as, yep, “Bible Studies.” I’m not sure whether Jim and I will eventually start a corresponding study group in one of our houses here in Sweeny, Texas, (frankly, I don’t have any idea what God has up His sleeve — about anything.) but, if we do, I’m guessing we would use these posts to start discussions.

Alas, whatever usefulness God gives these posts for the rest of His children, for me, they will retain their original purpose: they will be a chief means by which I can stay calm and hopeful during Another Transition.

But the posts will also be an extension of a dream I’ve had for more than a year.

See, in the Spring of 2017, the worship leader at my (former) school shared this video from pastor Francis Chan during a chapel session, and that got me excited about The Bible Project and its amazing app Read Scripture. I immediately downloaded Read Scripture and started talking it up. I now share Pastor Chan’s vision of a dream church in which everyone focuses on the same book or verse at the same time, and I made a brief effort to start such a tradition at our school, and in my church.

Alas, logistics got the better of me. I’m just not sure how to bring a vision like that to fruition in an organization that I don’t happen to lead.

Wait, who am I kidding?  I actually am sure how to do that; I have to just wait for God to do it.

And perhaps that’s what this latest Transition is all about. Could it be that these new posts will attract enough attention to inspire the masses (at my former school, my church and, well, in the whole world) to follow along as a group?  Who knows? A guy can dream (and pray), can’t he?

At any rate, I already started this little project a couple of weeks ago with six posts (one for each chapter) on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  I made the first post after I heard my church’s blessed pastor give an inspiring Wednesday night message on Ephesians 1:18. Then I realized the bible study idea would be a great dovetail.

I wrapped up the Ephesians “study” with this post on July 23, and immediately began asking God (and plenty of people) what book to study next.

Since I’m in Another Transition, I originally assumed God would send me to Ecclesiastes. That’s the book where we famously hear  “to everything there is a season” (8:1), afterall.

But Ecclesiastes will have to wait for the next season, I suppose.

I’ve been hearing many references to Job, of late. Particularly in relation to Hope, and how Hope is the pathway out of the, inherently Christian, struggles Paul prepares us for in Ephesians 6.

And what are transitions if  not struggles between God’s will and our will  — or, perhaps, The World’s will? (I admit that this is might be too pessimistic of a view, but it occurs to me that I have rarely met a transition eagerly. In the end, I would have almost always been happy to continue the status quo.)

So, Job it is.

God willing, I’ll reflect on Job 1 on August 15, and continue with a chapter a day until I’ve written about all 41 chapters. I’m looking forward to reflecting upon Job’s trials with this new perspective: Job was just a man in transition.