Our Hope in Life and Marriage

LEARNING FROM JOB

Job knew trials. He lost his livestock, camels, and servants (in other words, his wealth and his livelihood); he lost every one of his ten children in a single day; he was struck with horrific sores from head to toe; and, as if that weren’t enough, his friends were convinced he had brought it all upon himself.

Understandably, Job’s suffering was so crushing that he longed for death and pleaded with God to make known the cosmic reason behind his torment (Job 23). And yet, after wrestling with his friends’ accusations, his unrelenting misery, and, finally, with God himself, Job came to this conclusion: 

I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted … I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. (Job 42 v 1, 5)

Job’s life ended with an amazing picture of redemption, restoration, and healing (including wealth, children, and friendships). We aren’t promised a “happily ever after” in an earthly sense, but all those who follow the risen Jesus are promised an “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1 v 4). Yet our hope isn’t only in the eternal happiness and healing to come, but in the blessing of experiencing what Job did—of seeing and knowing our God more, even in—especially in—our darkest days. It was in the midst of his deepest suffering, and not after it, that Job came to see God—to know him, to experience him, to marvel at him. Through what was—to him—inexplicable suffering, he came to grasp “the greatness, majesty, sovereignty, and independence of God” (John MacArthur Study Bible, notes on Job 42 v 6).

Our prayer is that as we press on with a future hope of better days to come, we will not miss the life-changing blessings that Christ has in store for us right in the midst of our suffering.

WHY WE NEED JESUS

So this is where it starts, as it did for Job: we need not only to know about Jesus, but to know that we need Jesus.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But… (Ephesians 2 v 1-4a)

Saved and loved we may be, but we still sin. So, despite the “perfect-marriage face” most people put on each Sunday morning and when they’re with friends, our marriages are going to be sites of struggle as well as joy, because all our marriages are made up of two sinners. Tension and problems will blow up on good days—and when storms come to two sinners in the same boat, we’re often more tempted to push each other off the boat than help each other bail out water.

REFLECT

• Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If not, how might the truth of the gospel change your sense of hope, both for today and eternity? If you’re a Christian, how does the gospel change your suffering and your perspective on marriage even when challenges arise?
• In what ways do you think you most need God to help you or change you as an individual?
• (Together, if possible) What trials are putting pressure on your marriage? Do you believe that Christ can use these trials for the good of your marriage? Why/why not? How have you seen him chisel each of you to make you more like Jesus?

PRAY

Lord, thank you that nothing in my life is hopeless because you laid down your life for me, offering forgiveness, freedom, and eternity with yourself. You see my sufferings and know the hidden places of my heart and marriage that need to be renewed, healed, and redeemed. Help me trust that you have purposes beyond what I can see and that nothing is impossible for you. Help me lay down what I think is best and submit my desires for my life, family, and marriage to you. I believe that you are worth following, no matter the cost, but help me believe this more deeply. Thank you for your grace and forgiveness when I live in fear instead of faith, selfishness instead of sacrificial love, and pride instead of humility before you and others. In the weeks ahead, open my eyes to the truth of your word, and chisel what you must to reveal more of your image within me. Amen.

For further meditation: Psalm 130; 1 Corinthians 1 v 26-31; Ephesians 1 v 16-21; Hebrews 12 v 1-2, 3-13.