This weekend I headed south and crossed the boarder into North Carolina. During the next four days, Red Chair Moments is on location at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christians Writers Conference. Thankful for the strength to walk, I nestled into a secluded area of Ridgecrest’s prayer garden.
Today, I traded my little red chair for a wooden bench. Dragging the weathered wooden bench adjacent to God’s throne, knees touching with the Almighty, I pray Samuel’s simple prayer, “Speak, your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). Opening God’s Word, my eyes fixate on the highlighted words: “This was Job’s regular custom” (Job 1:5).
The wooden bench creaks as I lean back. “What was Job’s regular custom?” I ponder as early morning sunlight dances across the babbling brook on Black Mountain. I run my thumbnail across the armrest, scraping away lichen. Returning to Job, I read, “Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering” (Job 1:5). Job’s regular customs were to rise early each morning to offer prayer, praise, and sacrifices to the Lord, on behalf of himself and his family.
As the story of Job’s life unfolds, we learn God allowed the Enemy to test Job’s faith. Early in his trial, Job reacted in his regular custom of prayer and praise, “Then he fell to the ground in worship…The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:20-21).
In the middle of the trial, when God was silent, Job continued his regular custom of praise and exclaimed, “Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face” (Job 23:17). Job did not allow God’s silence to silence his praise.
Praise and prayer were Job’s regular customs.
Job’s life was book-ended by prayer and praise. The book of Job concludes, “The Lord accepted Job’s prayer. After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and game him twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:9-10).
The book of Job ends revealing God’s regular custom of His endless faithfulness, compassion, long-suffering, goodness, favor, kindness, and restoring power towards His faithful children. “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first” (Job: 42:12).
Job crossed into the land of uncertainty with God, but held tightly to his regular customs of prayer and praise. Have you crossed the boarder into the land of uncertainty? Do you have a regular customs with God?
I am encouraged to remain faithful to my regular customs of praise and prayer. Knowing, God will remain faithful to His regular customs of blessing, makes “It well with my soul.”
~April Dawn White
On location at Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Black Mountain, NC.