Do you know this song?

For I know my redeemer lives

and in the end He will stand on the earth

For I know my redeemer lives

and in the end He will reign on the earth

Though my flesh be destroyed

yet with my eyes I will see God

For I know that my redeemer lives

and I will stand with Him on that day (2x)

Now. Did you know those lyrics come from Job? (Or if they don't they can certainly be found there) And guess what? Job doesn't speak these words at the end of the book, after his family is restored to better-than-original condition, after his health has returned and his crops are prosperous. He speaks these words in the midst of defending his righteousness to his friends, who are steadily hurling indictments against him, sure he must have done something to incur the Almighty's wrath.

Can you imagine if Job were a modern-day figure, prominent in the church, a true follower of God. Imagine if he was Beth Moore. Can you imagine if Beth Moore's entire church in Houston was wiped out by a plague, with only a couple of survivors left to tell her the news. And then her friends and family began dropping like flies. Who among those close to her would be able to resist thinking she'd done something to deserve it? As much as we talk about God's sovereignty, His grace, and His omniscient wisdom, how could any of us manage not to assume Beth had some hidden secret, some lifestyle choice she had made that had incurred God's disapproval?

And yet in the middle of it, Job - and I suspect Beth Moore would as well - says his redeemer lives. Present tense. In the middle of all that, and some smack-talking friends, his redeemer lives.

I am humbled by that this morning. And I'll probably never hear that song the same way again.