Submit to God and you will have peace.
Then things will go well for you.
—Job 22:21
I’ve found that when your ego becomes inflated the most is when God humbles you the hardest. In this case, my head got so big that I threw my back out. Being primarily bedridden for more than a week gives you time to reflect on that sort of thing. It also gives you time to finish a draft of the manuscript you’ve been working on—in this case, a commentary on the book of Job.
One major takeaway from Job was how God will never fit into a box of theology. His plan is mysterious and will never align with platitudes about the wicked being punished and the righteous prospering.
Sometimes, you work so hard on the path God laid out for you that your emotions border on cocky. Then, for absolutely no karmic reason at all, you’re slapped with a crippling setback. While it can be tempting to curse God and doubt His ways in those times, the book of Job guides us toward deepening our relationship with God instead.
That’s why I’ve been making a point to express gratitude for the pain that has allowed me to focus more on things that can be done lying down—like reading, writing, and meditating, for example. Although it’s painful to, well, move at all, I can still recognize things could be worse. At least I didn’t lose my entire wealth, family, and health, like Job.
While the quote above may seem tempting to buy into, when read in the context of a bigger story, it’s actually being delivered by a misguided ‘comforter’ who tries to fit God within his neat little theology. The truth is that sometimes God makes the righteous suffer for reasons beyond our understanding. In those times, though, we should hold onto the faith that there’s a greater purpose building in the background.
#Namaste… in bed.