Les Calvary: Man of Destiny
One Year Bible (Aug. 29)
Job 31:1-33:33
Les Calvary: Man of Destiny
“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”
(Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address 1863)
A very humble, broken president stood on a battlefield that day amongst suffering all around him. It had been a bloody battle with brothers from the same family fighting against each other over the issue of slavery and freedom. Those fields were filled with the bloated bodies of brothers who were lying in decay under the hot sun. The scene was both pungent and tragic!
Abraham Lincoln stood to comfort and mourn the tragic loss experienced by soldiers, grieving families, and a divided nation. His eyes that day were fixed on the bravery and sacrifice of his beloved men… some from the South and some from the North. As you can see from his words, little did he know that his words would be remembered and go down as some of the most memorable words ever uttered by an American President.
We remember him not just for his words but because he was “a suffering savior”. He had stepped in to do “what was right in God’s eyes” and there was plenty of suffering and anguish in accomplishing what God had called him to do.
Honest Abe was no stranger to suffering. When little Abe was just nine years old his mother died. He had already lost a baby brother before losing his mother. Ten years later his sister, Sarah, died in childbirth leaving Abe on his own at nineteen years of age. As a young man, Abe fell in love with Ann Rutledge; she was the woman that Abe intended to marry. He was just starting out and had a “bright future” in front of him.
In 1832 he lost a job and was defeated for the state legislature. One year later he failed in business. Then the bottom fell out from under him again when he had to bury his sweetheart. He was alone and abandoned a third time and suffered a nervous breakdown in 1836.
He went on to fail at almost everything he set his hand to... speaker, congress, land officer, nomination for Vice President. He lost far more than he ever won!
After all of this, Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the United States. During this time he stood against slavery and “freedom for all”. He lost one of his four sons (who was only 11 years old) while in the White House. With this devastating loss, he essentially lost his wife to a nervous breakdown. Only one of their four sons would survive past the age of 18.
What would prompt a man of suffering to run for the highest position in the land and sustain him when all seemed lost?
You see, as a young man living in New Salem, Illinois he would chop the wood and read the pages. He was known as a voracious reader and could regularly be seen reading by candlelight. He often poured over the pages of the Bible. I wonder if in later years he looked back on his life and could relate to the book of Job. He knew that book well.
Listen to the words of Job 23:10-14, “But he knows where I am going, and when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths, I have followed his ways and not turned aside. I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food. But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind? Whatever he wants to do, he does. So, he will do to me whatever he has planned. He controls My DESTINY.”
Do you remember when Job wondered if anyone would recall his words as a just man?
“Oh that my words were written! O that they were inscribed in a book! That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever! (Job 19:23-24)
Can you relate to this longing?
Have you ever been stuck in the depths of suffering and wondered if anyone would remember you and if God would advocate for you?
More than anyone that I can think of in history, Abraham Lincoln suffered greatly while doing what was right. I wonder how many times he had read the book of Job by candlelight? He knew the sting of condemnation and accusations… He also knew death.
One week after the signing of the truce to the Civil War, Lincoln took his wife to a comedy at Ford’s Theatre. Before he could even celebrate the victory of Freedom he was assassinated.
Abraham Lincoln never knew the impact his life would have on the nation that he so humbly served. He tragically died before any respect at all was given to him. Yet, we as a nation will never forget his great sacrifice.
Abraham Lincoln did not follow the marching orders of the nation that he led. His orders came from a much higher source…
“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side for God is always right.” (Abraham Lincoln)
The final section of the book of Job is all about “Looking Up” and that is exactly what this “suffering savior” of his people did. He had learned well the lessons that God was teaching Job about his supreme sovereignty. Like Job, Abraham Lincoln’s words, suffering, and writings will always be remembered…Both would be remembered as an amazing “MAN OF DESTINY”.
