tubthumping

Back in the day, when life was pretty tough there was a song that was popular that was sort of inspirational for me. “Tubthumping”, by chumbawamba. Recognize it? Just in case you don’t, I’ll give you a hint. It’s also known as the “I get knocked down” song. But when I took a look at the lyrics this morning, I had to laugh as I discovered that the song is really about a drunken splurge or fest. Doesn’t matter. The chorus was all I needed to hear. “I get knocked down but I get up again,” became my mantra through those difficult days. The truth is, I did feel as though I was getting “knocked down” on all sides as I’m sure many of you have felt before. How’s that saying go? Trouble always comes in threes, or when it rains it pours. They really seem true. But maybe there’s a reason for that.

As I’m typing this, I’m thinking of the story of Job. You know the guy. The man of complete integrity, blameless, one who feared God and stayed away from evil. God was proud of him. He loved him. So what did he do? Throw a royal reception for him? Bless him with gifts galore? Honor him before the world? Nope, none of the above. In fact, what happened next might completely blow your mind. God allowed the rug to be pulled out from beneath Job’s feet and he lost everything. Everything.  What’s so puzzling about this is that it seems so inconsistent with how God felt about Job.

Who convinces God to test Job, to allow horrible things to happen in his life? None other than the Accuser, Satan. Perhaps the most interesting detail about this story is what happens behind the curtain, in the throne room of God. The very first chapter of Job describes how the angels are presenting themselves before the Lord. And not one to be left out, Satan shows up, too. When God asks him what he’s been doing, Satan tells God that he’s been roaming throughout the world watching everything that is going on.

 What happens next is the golden part of this story, God has something to brag about – his servant, his son, Job. As God is boasting about Job, Satan is concocting a plan; one that will screw up Job’s world – turn it upside down. He asks God for permission to take everything away from Job. In fact, he almost taunts God with this challenge. “Take away everything [Job] has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” (Job 1:11)

So God allows the test, and Satan greedily and hungrily gets to work. The first item on his agenda is to take away Job’s livestock and farmhands. Next, come the sheep and shepherds. Then Job’s camels and servants. Last, but not least, Satan hits Job with a gut wrenching punch by killing all of his sons and daughters. And that’s not even the worst part. The real kicker is that all of this happens on the same day, within a matter of hours. After he’s received all of this news, Job does what God expected him to, what God hoped he would do. He humbles himself before the One who has given him everything. Rather than curse God, Job accepts this test. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away he says.

Still, Satan isn’t satisfied. As if he hasn’t already done enough, he arrives in the throne room of God with a new challenge. Strike Job physically, Satan sneers and, “he will surely curse you to your face” (Genesis 2:4). God allows it and Job is stricken with a terrible case of boils from head to toe. At this point, even Job’s wife tries to persuade him to curse God and die. But Job stands firm and in all of what occurs he maintains his integrity saying, “Shall we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?”

Seems that Job went through a lot, too much maybe. Maybe you feel this way – that God has dealt you one too many blows. You wouldn’t be the first person to think that, nor will you be the last. It is a tough world. Bad things happen. Bad things happen to good people. And it’s true in the case of Job. He was a good man; a man of complete integrity. So, why the attacks? Why did God allow Job to suffer so much?

Wish there was an easy answer to that question, but the truth is there’s not. But I think it’s important to remember a few things. God wasn’t displeased with Job. He wasn’t punishing him. He loved Job. He was proud of him. The next time you face a trial, a knock-down punch, remember Job. Take a peek behind the curtain of heaven and read once again this unfolding and fascinating story; the story of a man who lost everything. Think about how proud God was of him. Maybe God isn’t cursing you. Maybe He’s testing you. Maybe He’s proud of you too and wants to show you off, not only to the Accuser, but to the rest of the world as well.

2 Corinthians 4: 8-10 We are hard pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.  (NLT)

Comfort Food

You know what I’ve realized about times of crisis?  The first place I run to get some comfort?  The kitchen.  Yea, you got it – I need comfort food.  Anyone out there who can relate?  Go on.  You don’t have to be shy.  Give a shout out for comfort food. 

Perfect instance?  Last night.  My son, bless his darn little soul, wanted to grow his dinosaurs - you know the ones that expand in water.  Apparently, he assumed the dinosaur would grow to be ten feet long.  So he left them in the sink to grow some more.  The problem?  He left the water running, and we didn’t discover the ensuing crisis until at least twenty minutes had passed. 

Thankfully, my husband heard something out of the ordinary, “What’s boiling he asked,” “Nothing,” I responded “There's nothing on in the kitchen.”  Five seconds later, “Oh [expletive], oh [expletive.]”  My husband rarely swears in front of the kids so when he did, I knew we were in trouble.  Running after him, I realized the problem immediately.  We had a flooded bathroom.  The telltale signs were the water stains beginning to form on our ceiling.  The first thing I wanted to grab as I chased my husband up the stairs?  Chocolate.  Yup, at that moment of crisis, I needed me a little chocolate fix. 

In fact, there were certain Girl Scout Cookies in the freezer calling to me, ‘Nici, we’re here for you, we’ll take all that stress you’re feeling away.’  I sooo wanted to grab those cookies and shove them in my mouth as fast as possible.  Only I was too busy gathering buckets and towels to have time to raid the freezer.  At least for the moment. 

When the dripping had mostly stopped, the cravings came fast and hard.  I was ready to grab half a pack of those Girl Scout treats and devour them in less than sixty.  (That’s seconds, not minutes.)  In fact, I was somewhat upset with myself that I didn’t have the really good stuff on hand.  I needed a better stock of comfort food;  Ben and Jerry’s, or those little chips by the name of Frito.  I especially needed my standard candy bar favorite -  a Caramello.  But not a one of those treats was in the house to soothe my sorrowing soul.   At this point, I didn’t care.  Any sweet treat would do.  So I ran to the kitchen, pulled out the box of cupcakes (lucky for me there were leftovers from the Super Bowl party), and prepared to drown my sorrows in those sweet little cakes.

But, for just a moment, I hesitated and thought long and hard about something.  Would this cupcake, or rather cupcakes, for I was prepared to devour as many as it took to get a really good buzz, would they really provide the comfort I so desperately needed?  Sugar rush, yes, good feelings, yes, guilt, well that I could deal with later, but real comfort, the kind that would last?  The answer was a resounding, no.  The cupcakes would taste good going down, but they weren’t going to give me peace, or slow my spinning thoughts, or assure me that, in the end, everything was going to be okay.  No, my sweet treats would only provide temporary comfort - a short term fix followed by a sugar crash that would result in feelings of regret and guilt.

Why would I even stop to consider this you might question.  Who cares if it was only a temporary fix.  After all, don’t we all run to food when we need some comfort?  But the thing is I don’t want my comfort to come from a candy bar.  I want it to be better than that.  I don’t want a temporary fix.  I need the real deal.  I need God, my Father.  See, lately I’ve been thinking about the role of food in our lives.  We love.  We crave.  We adore food.  It’s our fast fix.  But I don’t think it was meant to be that way.  I really don’t.  After all what was the original sin all about?  Food.  And we’ve been struggling to keep it in perspective ever since. 

Philippians 3:19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.  Their mind is on earthly things.

Does that verse apply to me?  Yes, absolutely, and resoundingly, yes.  And I guess I’m at the point where I just don’t want it to be my life’s verse.  I want to keep food in perspective.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not going to rule out chocolate or some of the above named treats.  I just want to learn to enjoy what I eat and be satisfied with it.  Not always craving more, more, more, but being grateful for my portion, whatever it may be.  So the next time you run into a crisis and those salivary glands kick in, remember this truth.  Food will always fall short of the mark.  It will never be enough to satisfy our deepest cravings.  Those cravings were meant to lead us to God alone.