Standing in Awe

Every time I read the account of Job, my heart gets heavy with conviction. He was a completely righteous, innocent man, yet God allowed Satan to test Job. Satan couldn’t understand that Job was righteous because he loved God. Satan was convinced Job only loved God because of the good things God gave Job.
 
God knew this wasn’t so because God knew Job’s heart (as He does all of our hearts), so He let Satan have his way with Job with one condition. Satan had to spare Job’s life. Job lost his livelihood, his children, his health and his closest friends.
 
We’ve had Job-like moments in our lives. Several years ago, I had a dream, and this message of impending loss was clearly conveyed to me. Even with a warning, loss can take your breath away and knock you off balance. In the tough times, it’s hard to get up every day. It’s hard not to complain and cry out to God (even Job complained a little…just read Job 7). It’s hard not to be scared. But it is what God asks us to do because He has a plan. He knows our beginning and our end. We may feel like we are walking in the dark along a treacherous path, but to Him and with Him, the path is filled with light and hope, and He guides us.
 
Honestly, even with a warning, I struggled some days to see how God’s plan was going to work out. We had what the world would say was a lot, and God took most of it away. Seeing what I see now, I know why. As I opened up the book of Job the other morning, I penned these words in my prayer journal:

God knew if we kept on our path, we were on the wrong path. I shudder to think where we would be today as a family had God not intervened in our lives. The path God now has us on has been bumpy and uncertain at times, but we’ve seen so much of His goodness along the way. And I know there is so much more still to come. Long before we even knew it, God had a plan, and His plan was different than our plan. God has taken us to places we never dreamt or thought of, used us in ways we never imagined, and is using our children to usher in revival. Had we stayed on our own path, this would have never been possible but with God, all things are possible (Mark 10:27). Paul says in Romans 9:16, “So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.“
 
The Bible tells us that children are “like arrows in the hand of a warrior” (Psalm 127:4). Warriors use their weapons in battle, and like warriors, we are to launch our children out into the world to battle on behalf of the Kingdom. Today I get to breathe in His goodness as my fourteen-year-old son’s new worship album hits iTunes today. Even at this young age, the gifts God gave him long before he could even talk or walk, are being used for His glory. One more arrow is being launched out into the world today to penetrate the darkness. I am a proud momma for sure, but more than that, I stand in awe of God who makes beautiful things out of broken pieces.

​Spenser Olson’s new worship album, Your Love For Us, can be purchased HERE.