All that is unspoken
And all that is unseen
All that I feel
In the depths of my soul
I long to give to Thee.
And all that You ask of me
And all that I am
I will place
On the altar of sacrifice
for Thee.
I give You my all
As You gave Your all
Because a heart
Can give no more.
-
CATHRYNE
ALLEN
All
suffering and all endurance of this life denotes the very purpose of God, to exalt
his children. All that is asked of us, our sacrifices, our suffering, our
difficulties, our development and our progression is God’s work and His glory, “to
bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:7). The next
level of our purpose in life is to become gods ourselves.
This is a
hard doctrine for many people to believe that mere man can rise to such stature.
I once wrote on Facebook that God’s purpose is to exalt His children to godhood
and enraged one reader who claimed there is only one God and ever will be and
therefore we are a Church of blasphemy. The funny thing is, deep down in us are
seeds of the very idea. I have been watching a lot of AI generated historical
periods. The Roman Empire in particular is a very interesting time. Everybody
it seemed was vying for the position of pharaoh even though the risk of being
murdered was exceptionally high. The most interesting thing is that many pharaohs
proclaimed themselves to be gods.
When Moses
encountered God on Mt Sinai, God showed him all the worlds He had made and
Moses was astonished and proclaimed: “Now, for this cause I know that man is
nothing, which thing I never had supposed” (Moses 1:10). Having been raised in
an Egyptian court, Moses was trained to believe there is none greater than the Pharoah….until
he saw God and what He can do and by this he concluded that man is nothing. God
then repeated the vision of all His works to ensure that Moses understood the
purpose of all His creations was to exalt His children (Moses 1:7).
To rise to
such heights as godhood, the price has to be paid. The Saviour has paved the
way but He could not make us godly. Only we can do that by accepting all the
tutoring that God will give and all that we will give in return.
We are told
that: 1. we must be chastened and tried, even as Abraham was, who was commanded
to offer up his only son and if we will not endure chastening but deny God, we
cannot be sanctified (D&C 101:4-5); and 2. We will be proven in all things
even unto death by abiding in His covenant (D&C 98:12-15).
“This seems
like such a high standard. Why must one be tested and chastened before he can
be sanctified? Why can a person not be worthy of God unless he is willing to
abide in the covenant even to death? To understand these questions and to gain
greater insight into why Abraham had to prove himself, think in the eternal
perspective for a moment. Imagine the disastrous consequences of making a
person a god who was not perfect in every respect.
“How would
the universe survive if it were controlled by a god who could not withstand
even intense pressure? Where would we be now if our God had not been disposed
to endure the suffering of seeing His Only Begotten Son go to the cross? If
Abraham had failed his test, he would have lost his position.
“If God the
Father had failed the same test there would have been no Atonement and all
mankind would have “become subject to that angel who fell from before the
presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil….And our spirits must have
become like unto him, and we become devils….to be shut out from the presence of
our God.” (2 Nephi 9:8-9)
-
(Old Testament Student Manual, Genesis – 2 Samuel, p
79)
In other words, we must give our all for God to give
His all…..the bar is high but help is near and the eternal in us yearns to be
more than this mortal sphere can give us. The Saviour made sure our purpose has
an eternal destination.
If not for You,
Where would I be?
I would belong to the enemy.
If not for You,
Where would I be?
I would be lost in obscurity.
If not for You,
Where would I be?
As death would claim me for eternity.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
I miss You Father,
More than I can tell.
I long to come home to Your embrace,
I want to be free from
This harsh and lonely place.
Are You missing ME, Father?
And do You long for MY embrace?
Or do all the hosts of heaven
Fill my empty space?
I want to be the daughter
Like the Son that He was,
I follow, I follow,
Leaving behind all my earthly sorrow.
-
CATHRYNE
ALLEN
(Artist Unknown)
“We will acknowledge someday, before God and all his
children, that life on this earth, that which we longed for as premortal
spirits desiring mortality, was the perfect school for our development. Though
the curriculum was exacting, the tests were more than adequately supervised by
the schoolmaster. Though the homework was extensive, again our teacher was our
constant support.” (Jerry A. Wilson, The Great Plan of Happiness – Insights
From the Lectures on Faith, p 75)
Looking back on Job’s life and considering the perfection of
his character, it is obvious that the test of his life had to equal the stature
of the man otherwise it would not have qualified as a test. I don’t know how
long Job’s test of faith lasted. The Bible does not tell us the exact length
though most biblical scholars and estimates suggest it lasted anywhere from
several months to under a year, composed of these timeline clues:
-
Initial
Losses: Job’s sudden loss of children and livestock happened rapidly, unfolding
over a single catastrophic day (Job 1:13-19)
-
The
Silent Mourning: Job’s three friends sat with him in silence for seven days and
seven nights after seeing his physical affliction (Job 2:13)
-
Months
of Suffering: Job laments in Job 7:3 that he has been allotted ‘months of
futility’ and wearisome nights, suggesting his physical misery lasted a
prolonged period.
-
The
Discourses: Time passed during the lengthy back-and-forth dialogue between Job
and his friends, followed by Elihu’s speeches and God speaking from the
whirlwind (Job 38-41).
I have looked back to the greatest test of my faith and have
been amazed to discover how perfectly fitted it was to me even though I would
never want to repeat anything like that. This test of faith challenged my best
attribute and my very essence of being and who I am. I have only just now discovered
how intricate the schoolmaster has been with me. The attribute that was tested
also happens to be my biggest strength that has kept me active in the Church
and ensured my obedience to the Gospel.
The test that I passed lasted much longer than Job’s. It
lasted for 11 years and in fact added another 30 years of ensued issues and
fears that needed to be resolved. This has been my extensive homework that has
made my life difficult but has in the process developed the strength of
character I will carry with me into eternity.
The teacher has indeed been my
constant support and has because of my endurance granted me the wish of my
heart….to keep me in His sight.
I failed to understand
Why such deep trials in my life,
I expected much better in my arrogant
pride.
How merciful You were Father
To help me see the purpose of the tide;
That through my bruised and aching heart
You kept me by Your loving side.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
I
wondered why You were absent
When
I most needed Thee;
I
felt so alone in my suffering,
Yet
You promised You’d be with us in everything.
I
thought I was in my own Garden of Gethsemane,
Until
I saw Your footprints
And
Your drops of blood
That
eluded me.
I
looked around and I understood
You
knew every tree,
Every
shrub, even every blade
Of
grass in Your vicinity.
I
was in Your garden, not mine,
that beckoned me.
I
realised You were there still
Praying
for my weak soul to come to Thee.
I
will come, I will honour Thee;
Let
me first sit under this tree a while
To
reflect upon Your suffering.
-
Cathryne Allen
I have written nine blogs about Job over the years but this year as I re-visited
his story, I felt that I had missed the crux of his experience. It pierced my
heart because it related to me in a personal way.
To recap, Job went from fabulous wealth, exquisite righteousness and
being a pinnacle of society to living in rags on the outskirts of the city, in
constant pain but remaining devoted to God.
Refusing to curse God and die, Job lost the support of his wife and through
the merciless scorn of Job’s self-proclaimed integrity, his friends offered no
support. Through it all, Job stood firm defending God. The more they opposed
his strength, the more Job praised God insisting ‘with Him is wisdom and
strength’ (Job 12:10-24). And in his sorrow, he exclaimed: “My friends scorn
me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God” (Job 16:20).
It’s the tears that get me because in the midst of his repeated pleading
to God, the heavens remained silent:
“…..as we know, silence had become part of the test. But what a problem
this posed for Job. Deep, depressing darkness cowed him by its awful blackness
and terrified him by its pervasiveness. Listen to his anguished plea with the
Lord for soul-relief, relief that included an answer to his persistent but
continually unanswered question: Why? Why? Why? Wherefore hidest thou thy face,
and holdest me for thine enemy? (Job 13:20-24)…..He hath fenced up my way that
I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths (19:6-8) (Keith H. Meservy,
Job, Yet Will I Trust In Him, pp 139-53)
Job’s greatest pain was not losing his children, his health or his wealth but the betrayal he felt as God turned away from his suffering.
In Lecture 3 of Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith said that there are three things necessary 'in order that any rational or intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation': 1. The idea that God actually exists; 2. A correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes; 3. An actual knowledge that the course of life he is pursuing is according to His will.
The Book of Job proves this teaching to be true. To exercise true faith and endure in faithfulness one must be convinced that God exists, have knowledge of His character to foster hope for deliverance and salvation and be assured that his life is acceptable to Him. All three necessary attributes listed above are reflected in Job's life.
When he proclaimed "I know that my Redeemer liveth" (19:25), he was basically bearing testimony of His existence. When he said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (13:15) is a clear indication that he knew of God’s merciful nature, His power and His strength (26:6-14). Job also knew that the life he was living was according to God's will and this he proved by recounting his good deeds ((29:12-17) and by asserting his righteousness (27:2-6).
What hurt Job the most was God’s silence. He had lived a perfect life, he believed in God, he knew him and yet God was silent. He was a good person and he had done all. How many times do we come across scriptures that say God is merciful, and He will answer our every prayer and yet at the most crucial time of our lives, we feel abandoned by Him and experience the silence?
How abandoned and rejected Job must have felt. The disdain of his
friends was bad enough as was the lack of support from his wife but to be
shunned by God was the end of the line. He had nowhere else to go for relief
and understanding. The only place he
could go from there was to wish for death (Job 3:3; 10:1). Job was not just
alone, he was utterly alone. Many of us understand this place. Yet still in the
midst of his longing for the end, Job remained steadfast and in the end he
heard the voice of Jehovah ‘out of the whirlwind’ which revived his soul and
confirmed the greatness of God who watched over him still (see Job 38).
I remember my tears to God some years ago about facing my trials alone when
He answered me: “was it you or I who suffered at Calvary?” I understood back
then the lonely road He had travelled in mortality all the way to the cross,
abandoned by His friends who ran from Him and betrayed Him and His countrymen
who rejected Him. And then the Father’s withdrawal and silence. How utterly,
utterly alone the Saviour must have felt in His most crucial moment at Calvary.
Those who would be Christ’s have to know ‘the fellowship of His sufferings’ (see
Philippians 3:8-10).
What Job did not foresee in the midst of his suffering was that his life
would take a turn for the better, and he would be recompensed for not turning
his back on one greater than him. His trust in God’s mercy did come as 'the Lord blessed the latter end
of Job more than his beginning' (Job 42:12). Job lived another 140 years in
prosperity and wellness after the trial of his faith. Would he have ever
imagined in the mire of his pain such a glorious ending to his life if he had
cursed God and died???
ODE TO JOB
You
sank so deep
Into
the mire of your pain;
Nobody
followed you
Nobody
sang praises to your name.
You
longed for the comfort
That
nobody could give
But
He who gave you life
In
whom you believed still.
He
stood and He waited until
In
your hour of agony
You
gloried in His name
And
became my beacon of hope
that
I can do the same.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
You
warned me there would be mountains to climb
But
promised there would be resting spots along the way;
You
warned me of the subtle pitfalls
And
how deep and wide the waters I would wade.
But
you promised me Your hand in mine
Every
minute of the day
And
that You would meet me at the finish line
When
I had conquered all there was to pay.
-
Cathryne Allen
