Focal Passages: Job 31:5-6, 9-10, 13-17, 24-30, 33-34
Captain Scott Smiley has climbed Mt. Ranier, completed a triathlon, and earned an MBA, all after losing his eyesight in Iraq. What happened? Receiving news that potential suicide bombers might be in the area, he ordered a suspicious driver to get out of his vehicle; instead, the terrorist blew up his car leaving dead and injured American soldiers in the wake. Scott Smiley lost both his eyes. He would be transported to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for rehabilitation and to receive his prosthetic eyes. Life for him was very Job-like.
He attributes his recovery to his Christian faith and his wife and loved ones: “It was my wife, Tiffany, my family and friends who were in my hospital room singing songs and reading the Bible that gave me the strength during my recovery. … It was all of this which allowed me to put one foot in front of the other and has allowed me to accomplish everything that I have done to get to where I am today.” Discouragement did not derail Scotty Smiley’s life. In 2009 he started teaching leadership courses at his alma mater, West Point, and in 2010 accepted command of their U.S. Army Warrior transition unit. He is also the first blind active-duty officer in the U.S. Army and the author of Hope Unseen.
As Job looked upon his life, he was convinced that when God weighed out his life, he would be found to be a man of integrity.
He was not guilty of any sexual impropriety. Futhermore, he had treated slaves, widows, the poor and orphans with compassion and generosity. He hadn’t cursed or harmed his enemies, nor had he put his confidence in gold or other riches. Unlike the Chaldeans, he had refrained from worshipping the sun, moon, or other objects. Job was convinced that he was totally honest with himself and with God. The question “What do I do now?” begins with an honest appraisal of the present. Like Scott Smiley, Job’s future was also “hope unseen.”