"I Will See God"

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"Even after my skin has been stripped off my body, I will see God in my own flesh." Job 19:26 God's Word to the Nations

The trees that remain standing from the Hayman fire thirteen years ago have had their bark stripped by the flames and the elements.  One day they will unceremonially fall to the ground; no one to weep, no one to notice.

Job is isolated by his pain. His friends have replaced Satan and are now the accusers, claiming that Job has sinned against God. "Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed?" (Job 4:7) Eliphaz's words strip more flesh from Job's boil infested body.

Not only does Job's pain isolate him from his friends, it separates him from God. Chapter after chapter he pleads to God, yet his pleas go unheard, at least that's the way that it feels.

Though Job's case is extreme, we relate to his pain. Pain has isolated us from family, friends, and even people in the community of the baptized. Pain has separated us from God. Pain strips us of our flesh.

In the depth of isolation Job knows that when the suffering is over, even after the flesh has been stripped from his body, he will see God in his own flesh. He sees the resurrection long before Jesus flees the tomb. Even when he feels that God is not responsive to his prayers, he will find hope in the promise of the resurrection.

This is my prayer for those of you who are intimate with pain. In the depth of your struggle, tears, and forsakenness may you boldly claim that when this is all over, in your flesh you will see God.

Jesus is your guarantee of this reality. In a couple of weeks, on the day we celebrate Jesus' resurrection, the community of God's people will declare with one voice, "Even after my skin has been stripped off my body, I will see God in my own flesh."

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You can listen to the Praying With the Eyes broadcast on The iB Network Internet radio station every Sunday at 8:00 & 11:30 am, as well as, 1:00 & 8:00 pm MDT (www.ibnetwork.us). You can also listen to the show using the Tunin app on your mobile device.  

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2015 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.