Job 10
Job continues his complaint today, giving it free utterance. (v. 1) For any who have been holding themselves back a bit, standing a little aloof, it’s time to admit how we can identify with Job. No, we probably cannot claim anything close to his righteousness, nor are any of us likely to have faced the mountain of calamity that has befallen Job. Yet we still ask, “Why me?” when we suffer. And (whether we want to admit it or not) we more than likely go further and find fault with God in allowing that suffering, even going so far as Job as to blame God directly for it. God surely sees these thoughts and attitudes within us. (Perhaps that is why he gives them voice through Job.) But we need to see them within ourselves, too, and confess them so that the Holy Spirit can lead us to the Father’s heart.
So don’t hang back and just observe Job from a distance. Move in close. Feel what he feels. Join him in voicing your own experience. But please don’t misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that you should develop a cynical posture toward God; just don’t deny what might already be there, because denial will never get you past it.
So, how about you? What about Job’s perspective hits close to home for you? What shocks you? What makes you shake your fist? Or what just makes you nod your head? What feeds your fears or shakes your faith? Or what squashes your fears and bolsters your faith? Let Job help you take a good hard honest look within.
Thanks John for your insight. I had an experience way back where I did the whole 9 yards of why me, why us, why is this happening? Throwing in some self righteousness.
Slowly, God revealed some hard truths.
That I was not blameless.
Righteousness doesn’t come from me, I can’t be righteous on my own, but only from the gift of Christ’s sacrifice for me.
I was not putting God first.
Over the years and still today the Holy Spirit is working within me answering my whys. God had to bring me to my knees so I could hear His truth and repent and depend on Him.
These recent passages from the book of Job have me thinking back to my father’s death. My dad died when I was 22 years old. I was so shocked by his death and I didn’t know how to process the emotions of grief and sorrow. All my upbringing said to just “put a lid on that stuff”, meaning real men don’t show emotions of grief or sorrow and certainly don’t cry from a loved-one’s death. And so I did that for about the next 30 years, never releasing the pent-up emotions. Over indulgence in alcohol kept these emotions bottled up – I didn’t have to face feeling them.
Over indulgence in alcohol took its toll on me and I sought help in a 12-step recovery group. While working the 12 steps of recovery, I finally had to face the bottled-up stuff I had carried around for all those years.
This is where I can relate to Job… By now, the sorrow I experienced at Dad’s death had turned into anger – anger at Dad for dying too soon, anger at myself for getting to the point I needed help and guilt for not being a better son (oh yeah!) and anger at God for allowing Dad to die so soon. “Why me?” indeed! Yes, I shook my fist at God, several times.
As I continued in recovery, my emotional emptiness healed and I came to grips with the awful feelings toward Dad … and God. I was finally able to forgive, make amends and heal. Thank God! And thank God!
As I read through Job and with John’s loving challenge, I see me very clearly in Job. I suspect we all can if we think about it and examine ourselves.
Now the best part… I have come to terms with grief and sorrow emotions, having gone through several friends’ and acquaintance’s deaths during my sober years. In fact, and I think we’ll see this in Job in later chapters, I look at the feelings of sorrow, grief, loss I experience as a gift. I know that sounds crazy. But being able to feel something at all when for so many years I didn’t or wouldn’t or couldn’t, even if the feeling is complicated and difficult, is now a gift and I no longer run from it. Instead I run to God. I think we’ll see this same thing happen in Job. That’s what makes the Scriptures come alive for me – I’m right there with Job.
Well said, Bruce. It’s often hard to identify with Job – with his state or whatever he is saying. But there’s personal gain anytime we can “put ourselves into the story”.