Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him
(Job 13:15)
This is a most powerful verse in all the Bible. It sums up the heart of the human plight that encounters the Living God. With that said, I now invite you Into My Heart.
Tonight (being October 6, 2018), I was greatly distressed. I said to the Lord, ‘I am in agony over this. I am imprisoned. I am in need of your help. Nothing will change without you.’ A short while later, I say to the Lord: I am tired of crying out to you concerning the same thing. I need to stop agonizing and start praising you.
I said this to the Lord moments before deciding to write this as the above verse came to my remembrance: I praise you everyday. But I do not want to merely praise you for your goodness and faithfulness. I want to praise you in my despair, my sorrow, my agony and in my imprisonment. This is why I love the Old Testament. Your people knew the joys and pleasures of praising you when everything was going wrong. The Psalmist did it so wonderfully and Job did it as well!
That is when the above verse came to mind—Though he slay me, yet will I trust him (Job 13:15). When a man arrives at a place of praise and worship of God even though he is faced with terrible, disastrous and lacking to be desired circumstances. He has arrived at a beautiful place with the Lord. It is written in dramatic fashion the very experience of the Lord Jesus on his way to be crucified:
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Hebrews 12:2)
There is nothing wonderful about walking to your very public execution. However, one word seems oddly placed within the context of what would be excruciating to Him—the word JOY. Such a word is not synonymous with capital punishment. And if that wasn’t enough to do, the author decided to add, ‘looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.’ This ‘looking unto’ signifies a focal point for an example; for direction. Therefore, Jesus is the example for all those who believe in Him and are His faithful followers.
So despite the pain, sorrow, agony and despair one may encounter and endure, they are to be joyful in the midst of it! That is a paradox if ever there was one. However, the author includes what was known, witnessed and wide spread—‘has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ That is the clincher. The very beginning of where this joy was birthed from and the end for which this joy is fulfilled. Being in God’s presence forevermore, where there is a total rest from the depravity of a broken Creation and a sinful nature that endures hardship after hardship bodily, spiritually and relational wise.
This is the foundation for all who praised God regardless of what they had to endure throughout the millenniums. They were confident that the end would be joy complete in God’s presence and from that hard-wired hope, praise resulted from what many would consider least favorable conditions to warrant praise to God.
And so, I rejoice that I too join a rich heritage, legacy and lineage in my own life, of knowing the paradox of praise in the midst of sorrow and pain, to bring about the greatest of joys and the triumphs of praising God, as they were born out of sorrow, agony, despair, brokenness and hardship. Therefore, I praise God all the more, that although I am not exempt from pain I can count it all joy when various trials I encounter, and I shall do so by praising God through the sorrow, agony, pain and despair. Amen [so be it].
—F.A. Lugo
10/6/18
1:16 am
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