By Rev. J. Loren Russell
“Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.”
Job 14:1-2 NKJV
“You’d better recognize” is a phrase used when someone is trying to stress the urgency of a matter. It should not be ignored and it must be taken seriously. The scripture text for this article needs to be recognized. The situation is critical and cannot be ignored. No matter how rich or poor, how educated or illiterate, how kind or how mean, everyone born into this life has but a few days. Whether someone lives 90 seconds or 90 years, it is all just a few days and each of them are full of trouble.
Job is the central character in this book that carries his name. He has been through a tumultuous time having lost his wealth, his health and his family. He began looking at the brevity of life, the certainty of death and the comfort that comes with it. He seems to have forgotten that life is for the living, for planning and making things better for yourself, your family, your community, and society at large. He’s right when he says life is short and full of trouble; that we bloom like flowers then vanish away; that we, like shadows, are absorbed into the night. We would be wise to recognize our limitations and take full advantage of every moment we are given.
We entered into a new year and a new decade this past week. Some limped in after surviving 2019. Others waltzed in on the dance floor of blessings. However you made it through, we are here now. The question becomes, “what are you going to do with the time?” People made new year resolutions with high expectations. Others made no commitments, fearing the troubles of life will circumvent their aspirations.
If you stopped reading the book of Job at verse 2, you might be persuaded that whatever you do won’t matter anyway. But there are 28 additional chapters that reveal what’s possible in those few days that are full of trouble. The last chapter and the last six verses in the book inform us of those possibilities:
“Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days.” (Job 42:12-17 NKJV)
Make your new year resolutions! Plan on becoming the best you that you can be! Work to make your dreams a reality! While our days may be few and our troubles many, the time we have is more than enough! There is no time like the present. You’d better recognize!!!
Happy and Blessed New Year and Decade!
Rev. J. Loren Russell is President/CEO of The JLR Company for Church Financial Strategy & Consulting; an associate minister at both Goodwill and The Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx; creator/host of “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Soul 1 Radio, Monday’s 8:00 – 10:00 PM (626-226-1448) and author of Matters of Faith: The Book, an eBook available at Smashwords.com.
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