The Scent of Water

     What did I ever do to deserve this?

    Many years before Jesus came to earth, righteous and patient Job encountered terrible circumstances. His life had been devastated by family and property losses. His children died when a strong wind destroyed the house where they were gathered. Fire and rustlers took his servants and livestock. Job was bewildered. He seemed to ask, “Why? Why? Why me?”

     Was there not a shred of hope for Job? He considered that even an old tree stump has hope.

      Job 14:7-9 – King James Version (KJV)

     7  For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

     8  Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground

     9  Yet through the scent of water it will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant.

     Job lived long ago. Let’s fast forward at least 4,400 years to today. Regardless of the many advances in our culture, the fact remains that bewilderment, grief, fear, dismay, disappointment, and regrets continue to haunt many individuals. Just as Job agonized, so do men and women today. Is there any hope? Do regrets haunt your days?

     Job remembered, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him …” Job 13:15b KJV

     The good news about Job is that he remained steadfast in his trust of God. In his desire for relief and with his trust in God, his hope was stirred just as the old tree stump budded at the scent of water. Job didn’t understand why his life seemed to be falling apart, but he recognized that God was in control. God blessed him by restoring his losses with twice as much as he had before.

     Perhaps, you are reading this item from an elegant room of furnishings and art. Maybe you just reviewed the quarterly statement from your investment manager – all’s good. However, there’s a glitch to your peace of mind: a gnawing remorse for misdeeds and a realization that “walking with God” was a journey in your distant past.

     Take a deep breath, read the twelfth chapter of Romans and consider the following verses:

     “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart…” (Proverb 3:5a KJV).

     His blessings do come with requirements: “He has shown thee, O man, what is good: and what doth the LORD require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8, KJV)

     Take a deep breath and inhale hope.

                                                                                                     … Martha

 Note:  The early-morning photo is of an oak sapling that budded from an old stump in Central Florida