“So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7 ESV).
Blisters the size of Ryan’s thumb adorn my knees. Looking down at myself, I feel a disconnect between the raw disgusting skin I see and that it is actually my body. Angry red patches spread over my knees swelling them out to an unnatural shape. Earlier this week, walking became difficult and painful as did sitting with my legs dangling down. Invisible needles jabbed me at every step. Who knew I was so allergic to poison ivy?
Possibly the most malicious thing about poison ivy is that you don’t know you have been scorched until days later. I’m sure I was exposed on Wednesday of the previous week but nothing materialized until Sunday. Who knows where else in the house the poison rubbed off of me before I actually showered. Does it still linger somewhere, undetectable to the naked eye, waiting to strike? Ryan then got some on his foot and it appeared on me in other places. More and more blisters appeared and nothing seemed to help so I went to the doctor. My reaction was so severe they didn’t want to believe it was poison ivy but something else like a drug interaction. After convincing them of my perilous journey into the yard, they gave me some medicine and although I’m on the mend now, it will be weeks before my skin is back to any kind of normal.
I can’t imagine having blisters like these over my whole body as Job did. And honestly as painful as mine is, I’m sure his was much worse. I’ve thought about Job often in the past few days. At least Job was suffering for righteousness sake. I’m suffering because of my own bad decision to wear shorts while detangling a rose bush. The truth is that sometimes we suffer because we are followers of God, Satan will make sure of that. Other times we suffer because we live in a fallen world. I’ve known people who say everything happens for a reason. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 9:11 that “time and chance happen to them all.” Not everything in this world happens for a “good” reason. Sometimes things just happen and maybe the point is not what is happening to us but how we handle it. No matter the source of our suffering, Who we really follow, what we really believe, will be revealed when we are the most vulnerable. I praise God that He shines brightest in the dark.
Dear Lord, help me today to take things as they are, to realize that good and bad things happen to everyone, and that Your silence doesn’t mean You don’t care. Although I may go through various sufferings, and complain like Job, You will still be with me the whole way if I only ask. Amen.