Job, the Old Testament believer, was at a loss. God had stripped him of so much. Worldly goods. Family. Friends. Dignity. Respect. Health. If only Job could plead in person for God to relent! But in his grief, Job could not even find God in prayer. 

“If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! . . . I catch no glimpse of him” (Job 23:3,9).

What has been stripped from your life? Maybe your list of losses rivals Job’s. Even one such loss can spiral through a person’s life like an over-torqued screw, splitting the fibers of what seemed whole and beautiful, cracking it down the middle. 

If only there was a way to make the pain end. If only you knew what to pray. If only you could find God! 

Take heart, believer. You can’t always know the way that God takes. But like Job you can confess: “He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

Though you stumble, you follow God’s way, led by his goodness and mercy. When you fold your hands and fumble for words, the Holy Spirit groans on your behalf. When you feel an amputee’s longing for better, bygone days, God promises your time of testing will end. As you dress your heart’s wounds with God’s promises . . . you are loved, you are forgiven, heaven awaits . . . your good gift of faith is made better. 

And you will come forth as gold.