The Finish Line Is Motivation

“When a few years are come, then I shall go the way [whence] I shall not return.” (Job 16:22 AV)

Job is not suicidal here.  This is not an indication that he is ready to die.  Rather, Job is comforting himself by the reminder that life is temporary.  No matter the trouble we experience, it is only temporary.  If we have repented from our sin and unbelief, accepted that Jesus Christ is the only way to forgiveness and heaven, and believed with our whole heart that He died for us, then we can take comfort as Job did.  We don’t know how old Job was at the time of this tragedy.  We know he had ten children.  But we also know he and his wife had ten more.  That being the case, Job was more than likely middle aged.  If so, usually uttered by those who are close to the end of life.  When we have lived the bulk of our lives, we tend to look upward.  Job, because of his tragedy, has placed his heart one eternity.  Robbed of everything important to him, the LORD is his sole interest.  The statement above is not one of hopelessness.  It is quite the opposite.  It is one of great hope!

Growing up in the snow belt and living on a corner lot, we had our share of work to do.  When it snowed, we were committed for the better part of a morning.  Add to the double nature of the sidewalk a six or seven car driveway, and you get the picture.  I don’t remember a lot of it, but I do remember one such evening.  It had snowed for a couple of days.  When the garage door opened, we were faced with snow up to our knees.  With about four or five boys to knock this out with the help of a sister or two, you would think it no big deal.  Think again!  When faced with such a daunting task, one is overwhelmed.  Then there are the dynamics of cold and tired siblings who quit too early, and one can imagine what we were facing.  The driveway came first.  Then the sidewalks.  It was 1800 square feet of shoveling.  That is a lot!  Imagine how long the blizzard of ’77 took!  One encouragement to finishing the job was seeing we were past the halfway mark.  Once the driveway was done, which was about 980 square feet, the rest became much easier.  The driveway/parking lot was the most difficult because there was only one way we could shovel it.  It has to go to the north and heaped up in two piles.  The sidewalks could be shoveled to both sides.  Knowing the parking lot was clear, there was energy to finish.

That is how Job is looking at his situation.  Yes, he is despondent.  But he also knows he has lived a good chunk of his life and even if things do not get better, glory is all that much closer.  I can identify.  Each day I arise, I am one day closer to meeting my Savior.  I am not in a rush to get there, nor do I resent being here.  In fact, knowing my eternal state is closer than ever before, there is a feeling of patience, invigoration, and hope for the future.  Whatever it might be.  Funerals of believers never lose their wonder for me.  Whether it is the look on the face of the departed or the peace on the face of those left behind.  There is a calm assurance of a future filled with hope.  Yes, there will be a hard time of adjustment at the loss of someone so close.  There will be loneliness and sorrow, the depths of which we had never experienced before.  But as Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Thessalonica, we will meet together in the clouds and forever be together with the LORD.  It will be here sooner than we planned!