Passing Waters

You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away. And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
Job 11:16-17
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Passing Waters
For Zophar, faith and misery are strangers.  If one lives a virtuous life according to God’s Word than no pain or suffering will befall them.  If, however, one is sinful and immoral, than pain and suffering are sure to follow.  His argument is that if Job would just start living right then his struggles would pass away as quickly as the waters of a flowing river pass by.  Zophar’s thinking is much of what passes for “Christianity” these days.  But it has more of a home in eastern religions and ideas around karma.  As Christ tells us, “And all nations will hate you because you are my followers” (Matthew 10:22).  We are not promised good times and easy living as followers of Christ, just the opposite.  When God marks you as His child in Holy Baptism, a bullseye is placed on you.  The devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh take aim and constantly try to bring you down.  Job is proof of this.  Our own lives of faith bear witness to this as well.  But what we can trust in and know for sure is that even in the midst of suffering in this life, Christ is there with us.  He leads us to the still waters of His love.  His grace and mercy continuously flow over us as the passing waters of a river, bring comfort and peace.  And no matter what the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh throw at us we rest secure in the knowledge that what Jesus has promised is so, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).