Poem: Job's Answer

"Job's Answer" depicts an internal struggle which I personally experienced during a difficult spiritual "low." I was beginning to realize that a lot of things I had taken for granted were no longer available to me, that some hopes which I had cherished would never become reality, and that some old insecurities had never really been conquered.

The line "Thou who hast afflicted me" came very clearly to me, as if given, and the rest followed afterward in a single afternoon.

At times like these, I ask a lot of questions. I am brutally honest about my feelings, even if I am disappointed with God. I think He would rather that I laid all my cards on the table than pretend that I am more pious than I am. He knows my heart. Why should I hide my struggle from Him?

Yet, at the end of it all, I have to be ready to say: "Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine."

When I speak my mind with honesty to God, He is very adept at returning a powerful response. Many times, like Job, I have had to admit, "Your answer has left me with nothing left to say."

And even when God gives no reply, He has a way of making Himself known...and that's what "Job's Answer" is all about.