I know that my Redeemer lives ...

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Then Job answered and said: “How long will you torment me and break me in pieces with words? These ten times you have cast reproach upon me; are you not ashamed to wrong me? (Job 19:1-3)For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! (19:25-27)

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It seems so obvious to me that Job is getting weary of debating with his friends. He even recalls the number of times that they have spoken disparagingly to him. Stepping back from the intensity of the interactions I have to wonder what the setting was like and how long it went on. Were they around a table? Could it be that they were sipping on wine and noshing on food as they talked? Maybe there was a note taker? I wonder what the atmosphere was like?

In the midst of this arduous debate hope seems to rise as Job speaks. The role of hope is so important in life. It is even more important to those who grieve. I think that is why faith is so important in navigating the deep emotions that surface when we grieve. It is why Job's profession that his Redeemer lives and that he will see God when he dies is so important. I think that, without a hope based on faith, it is so easy for grief to become despair and depression.

Help us to be people of hope Lord. Remind us when we struggle that our Redeemer lives.

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