Are you feeling alone during this time of being shut in at home?  Or, maybe you wish you were alone, as you are shut in with people who are getting on every last inch of your nerves.  Are you wishing things were back to “normal”; that the tape of time would just rewind and your life would continue as it was?  If anyone ever felt this way, I am convinced it was Job.  In just one day he went from being wealthy to being stripped naked of every source of income that he had.  He went from being a proud father to being childless. He went from being one of the most honored men in the land to being despised and rejected and he went from being healthy to barely hanging on to life.  Let me describe his circumstances using some of his thoughts, “I cannot eat for sighing, my groans pour out like water”  “I have no peace, no quietness, I have no rest; only trouble comes.” “I don’t have the strength to endure, I have nothing to live for.”  “I wear burlap to show my grief.  My pride lies in the dust.  My eyes are red with weeping; dark shadows circle my eyes.” “My relatives stay far away, and my friends have turned against me.  My family is gone; and my close friends have forgotten me.”  “My breath is repulsive to my wife.”  I am reduced to skin and bones and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.  “the hand of God has struck me.”  

Oh how many thoughts must have crossed Job’s mind.  As he sat on his ash heap, I am sure he felt so very alone.  Even Jehovah, whom He loved, seemed not to be paying attention to his cries.  His wife told him to “curse God and die.”  The worms crawling out of his rotting flesh were his only companions and even when he did have visitors, it heaped more weight upon his already crushed heart. They wrongly accused him and insisted that his severe trials were because of some hidden sin.  Many chapters of Job are filled with him crying out to God, begging Him for answers and for a chance to justify himself.  The other chapters are filled with his friends’ “counsel”.  In chapter 19 however there is a precious nugget of truth that each of us can claim for our own lives.  Job had just poured out his heart, describing his circumstances, crying out to God for mercy, and then out of the depths of despair comes a burst of hope.  “But as for me, I know that my redeemer lives.”  Oh Job, does that really outweigh all of the trials you are facing?  The answer is yes.  Having the Lord in the midst of your hell far outweighs being alone in your heaven.  

My friend, I don’t know what trials you are facing today.  Yes, most of us, if not all have been affected by the COVID 19 virus.  The economy is plummeting, people are dying, unemployment is soaring, depression has hit many like a Mac truck going 100 mph.  I am sure, however, that there are those who have felt lonely and isolated long before the shelter in place order.  They have lost the love of their lives and now their lives feel meaningless.  Some have chronic health problems and sit wondering when the suffering will end.  Anxiety, depression, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of the future, and regrets from the past flood peoples’ minds and hearts on a daily basis.  All of the “what if’s” of life- questions that are not humanly possible to answer… they form a parade through our minds in a never ending circle of troubling thoughts.

May we, like Job, stop where we are and loudly proclaim over our circumstances. “I know my Redeemer lives.”  Yes, I’m in horrible pain but my Redeemer lives.  I don’t know all of the answers but my Redeemer lives.  My back is up against the wall and I see no way out but my Redeemer lives.  I feel all alone but my Redeemer lives.  Satan is raging war against me but my Redeemer lives.  I lost my job but my Redeemer lives.  I am dying but my Redeemer lives.  I don’t know how to go on living in my own strength but my Redeemer lives.  Yes, I have a past full of horrible sins but my Redeemer lives.  Shout it out my friend.  “My Redeemer Lives!!!!!”  Those 3 little words bring forgiveness for the past, purpose for the present, and hope for the future.  Jesus is alive and is at the right hand of God pleading our case.  He is our Vindicator, our Advocate, our Shelter, our Strong Tower, our Anchor of Hope, our Best Friend, our Brother, and our Savior. No circumstance can change that fact and no tragedy can tear Him from us.  What a joy to know that we are never alone.  Even if we can’t feel the Lord in our situation, He is there.  Who knows, He may even be using our lives as an example of faithfulness to the angels and to Satan and his demons.  If you don’t have Jesus as your Redeemer, please, take Him now.  He is willing to forgive every sin and give you the power to live the present with joy and victory.