Hard Times Make Us God-Inseparable

Oh, to be intertwined with God...

Job used to know God from a distance (“by the hearing of the ear”), but now, after having ben through the grind and clinging to God when nothing else made sense, Job knew God in a much more intimate way (“Now my eye sees you”).  And with that, Job arrived at the most important point: It’s not about figuring out all the of the mysteries of God, but embracing Him and cherishing Him- even when He doesn’t make perfect sense to us.

Francis Chan  Erasing Hell 138

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.

The hard times bind us closer to God and He closer to us.
The word "wait" or "hope" used in Isaiah 40:31 comes from a word picture of twisting, binding, or intertwining something like a rope (qavah Strongs 6960).
It's as if clinging to God in the hard times threads His DNA even deeper into our inner core and being.  We must cling to God in the unknown as Job did to arrive at a place beyond having to convince ourselves that God is in everything including the Hard to experiencing and seeing God in everything including the Hard.

The catch?  If we push Him away in the hard times or falter, we are missing some of the most intense bonding times which can only take place under extreme heat or pressure.  I will cling to God when i don't understand Him instead of push Him away.  It's the only way that I will know Him deeper and closer.

Oh, to be intertwined with God.