Post Entanglement - What next?

My friend who contributed the tree branches picture in the post Entangled in Sin gave me another picture to think about.

He broke through the entangled branches of sin, only to find this scene of buried tanks of mystery.  What if you break through your addictions that kept you entangled in sin, only to find that the scene that awaits you is not what you pictured or dreamed about?

Life is hard.  Sometimes there really isn't any explanation for why some people will have a harder walk in this world than others.  Job is one such example that keeps popping up in my searches for good things to share with others.  It would seem that Job is the one we can identify with.  Job was blighted when Satan sought to test this man of God, and while he refused to curse God, he did wish to die.  If you remember the plight, Job lost everything, and then was cursed with painful illness, including horrible skin boils, "covered with maggots and scabs, skin breaking open, oozing with pus." ~Job 7:5 (NLT).

Men and women of God often find themselves in a calamity of life they cannot explain away by sin.  It could be the loss of a job, or divorce, or loss of a loved one, or even the loss of personal health, as in cancer.  The important thing to remember when we are facing these things, is that God never left your side.  It may seem that you are in a vast wasteland full of these barrels of buried waste, but even there, God is there too.

There is nothing you face that He didn't face too.  I hope you can feel assured that the One who went before us is the One who heals us.  In the end, He healed Job and blessed his second life more richly than the first half.  If you find yourself in a calamity of life, think about this life on earth as much like the first half of Job's life.  There will be a second half.  Just wait, God has a plan for you.  I like to think of my beautiful second half of life being my life with God in heaven.  These are the promises I place my hope in.  In the meantime, I pray for resilience and endurance.  I also pray heartily for my friends who walk each day in pain.

"I stay awake through the night, thinking about your promise." ~Psalm 119:148 (NLT)