Knowing Your Redeemer
Today’s scripture selection: Job 19-20
Key verses: Job 19:25
Even though he was barely hanging in there – in his own words “by the skin of my teeth,” Job was still a man of faith.
Despite the tragedy, the loneliness, the rebuke of his own family and friends, he could utter a prayer of hope:
“I know my redeemer lives.”
In biblical times a redeemer was a family member who bought a slave’s way to freedom. It was also the term used for one who cared for a widow – the woman particularly vulnerable in those harsh times. And, in the language of faith, Jesus has long been understood to be the redeemer of a lost world.
So, years before Christ was born; centuries before the long awaited Messiah makes his first appearance, Job hopes for redemption.
Sometimes we too are holding on by the skin of our teeth and not much more. But if we can have the faith that calls out for redemption – freedom – life – that can make all the difference in the world.
Who is your redeemer?
It may be someone in your family; a good friend who always has an encouraging word; a trusted minister or counselor; a co-worker; your spouse; Mom or Dad – all of these can be there for you when no one else understands or cares. Give thanks for such people in your life.
But most of all, remember that God is your redeemer – and God will never give up on you.
If Job could believe that – can’t we?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for redeeming me, time and again. AMEN.
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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