with devotion: JOB

Showing posts with label JOB. Show all posts

The Lord blessed the latter days of Job ...

And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. (Job 42:10-12 ESV)

I love the way that Job's story ends. He forgives and prays for his friends. He is healed. His fortunes are restored. Sometimes we get a second chance at life after grief. You know it was funny how Ann and I met all over again. We had been acquainted for almost 20 years but had not seen each other for about five years. One day we, by chance, ran into each other at a sidewalk sale in south Kansas City. I wrote this poem at the onset of our courtship.

Love at Second Sight

What drew me to her I do not know.
Spirit? Soul? Flesh? A mystery to me still.
On that day I saw her again ... for the very first time.
Could this be love ... at second sight?

That day was bright ... my heart was dark.
Her skin was fair ... my soul was heavy.
A spark ignited and my spirit soared.
Could this be love ... at second sight?

The summer passed and fall had come.
My mind wandered still to that that day in June,
When my heart was touched by her lovely smile.
Could this be love ... at second sight?

As grief passed and courage grew,
I saw her again and then I knew ...
That my heart longed to know her heart.
Could this be love ... at second sight?

Mourning exchanged for joy.
Loneliness turned into happiness.
Feelings I can neither explain nor express.
Could this be love ... at second sight?

Time goes on and passion grows.
Where we'll go ... who really knows.
My heart and my mind yet question still ...
Could this be love ... at second sight?
When you are experiencing hardship, and wonder if your trial will ever end, it is good to remember Job. How God was faithful to him. How God blessed the latter part of his life more than the first. Do not lose heart. God does care and He has a purpose and a plan for your life. Open your eyes and begin to see your situation with eyes of redemption. Know that He can and He will redeem your darkest times and most difficult situations to give you beauty for ashes.

You have brought beauty from ashes in my life Lord. He me to remember this beauty when I am in pain.

I have uttered what I did not understand ...

Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1-6 ESV)

These words had to have been music to divine ears. Job has come to himself and the relationship that he once had with God is being set right. Are there more beautiful words in all of literature than these? Words of repentance are the most majestic ones in any language. Job's words embody the phrase "I am sorry" and speak to the deep way that his dialog with God has changed him. In the end only God can bring beauty out of the ash heap of our pain and our grief.

I find myself today in such a place. This month marks the fifth anniversary of Ann's horrible physical relapse that placed her in a motorized wheelchair. As I look back over the years I find that my theology of healing and of pain has substantially changed. I think that this change has caused my relationship to God to be healthier - I do not obsess as much about things that I have no control over. That said, I still long for God to appear to me the way that He did to Job.

Like Job, I often utter what I do not understand Lord. I repent. Open my eyes. Help me to see you.

Will you even put me in the wrong?

Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? (Job 40:8 ESV)

Our story is coming to a close. God is questioning Job. He has asked him questions that have only divine answers. This question is a bit more personal. When the story began Job was stuck in a season of denial and spoke things that seemed religiously correct. Back then it was written that "In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong." Then denial ebbed and deep emotions surfaced. Not understanding what was going on Job said condemning things.

It is so easy to lash out at God when we suffer great loss - especially if we have a certain view of divine sovereignty. If our view is narcissistically man-centric then we most certainly will see God as being involved in everything that happens to us. In this view the world revolves around us. But if we can get outside of our little world, for even a moment, we will see that divine sovereignty allows but does not cause things to happen to us. It is hard to see when we grieve.

Help us to see you Lord as the One who causes even bad things to work together for our good.

I lay my hand on my mouth.

Then Job answered the LORD and said: “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.” (Job 40:3-5 ESV)

There is a time to be still and know that He is God. This is such a time for Job. God has confronted him and showed him that he is unaware of what is happening all around him - life is going on even though Job hurts so much. It is a difficult to hear of such things when we are so focused on our loss. In such times we need to be made aware that life is more than our pain. Sometimes it is so helpful to get outside of ourselves and direct our attention elsewhere.

As God speaks from the whirlwind Job is beginning to understand that his anger directed at God has not been a healthy way to vent his grief. Many times in deep anguish we speak hurtful words - things that leave our mouths that we can never get back. When we are confronted our first reaction is to make excuses like Job does here. We are tempted to write off our actions because we were grieving. But, even in grief, God requires more of us.

You Lord did not leave Job alone in his pain. Thank you for being faithful to correct us even when we grieve.

The LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind ...

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? (Job 38:1-5 ESV)

I think that this is one of the oddest passages in all of the bible. It is one of the few times that God visits man in this fashion. I wonder what the whirlwind experience was like? Did God speak audibly (the narrative seems to indicate that he did) or were the words perceived by the hearers in their minds? On the flip-side I wonder if the author of Job took literary license and presented the words of the Lord in a context that readers could readily understand?

I love how it is said that "the Lord answered Job" but He never really answered any of the questions that Job asked Him. Interestingly God rhetorically speaks of laying the earth's foundations and challenging Job to understand what only the Almighty can perceive. In all of God's soliloquy (which goes on for chapters) I hear him asking Job to simply trust the One who created and sustains all that we can see. Yet trusting God in times of grief is no easy task.

You are the Almighty. The Creator of all things visible and invisible. Help us Lord to trust you in times of trouble.

He burned with anger ...

Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. He burned with anger also at Job's three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger. (Job 32:2-5 ESV)

There is a very good chance that Elihu is the author of the book of Job. He is the only one mentioned in the book that details his ancestry. He has been waiting to speak and has heard everything that Job and his friends have said - perhaps he was taking notes? As he has listened to his elders speak passion has surfaced from his gut. He cannot understand why these do not understand why all of this has happened to Job. He spends the next six chapters venting.

In some sense grieving is very difficult to understand when we are young. The lessons of age often (but not always) provides us with a context to deal with loss. As we age we experience the loss of grandparents and then parents. We learn to grieve because we have to. Those who are younger, like Elihu, do not have that context and express deep emotions when bad things happen - and sometimes their anger is misdirected at those who are hurting the most.

Help us Lord to know how to be content with unanswerable questions. Teach us to be comforters and not accusers.

I cry to you for help and you do not answer me ...

God has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes. I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me. (Job 30:19-21) My skin turns black and falls from me, and my bones burn with heat. My lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe to the voice of those who weep. (30:30-31)

Sometimes life can seem so unbearable. Often in these times we pray and we pray and nothing seems to change. Job has now been talking to his friends for some time and the weight of his grief seems as heavy as the moment that they arrived to be with him. In each soliloquy he offers Job seems to speak of how God seems to be so far and how the Lord seems to be against him. It can be so hard when we grieve and our prayers are unanswered.

Some time into his ministry John the Baptist was arrested by Herod and cast into jail. As time passes John wonders why the one who proclaimed freedom to prisoners had not come to his cell to set him free. He sends his disciples to Jesus and they return with this message from Christ: "blessed is the one who is not offended by me". It is a hard but necessary message to hear when we hurt, grieve and our prayers are unanswered.

Help us Lord to not be offended at You when our prayers are unanswered.

Oh, that I were as in the months of old ...

And Job again took up his discourse, and said: “Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent, when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were all around me, when my steps were washed with butter, and the rock poured out for me streams of oil! (Job 29:1-6 ESV)

The path of grief is the path forward but so often the path takes a turn towards the past. Dealing with the past that we have lost is a normal and essential phase of grief. Listen to what Job says - listen with your heart as he speaks of days when he says "my children were all around me". As he sits in darkness all he can think of are the days when his life was filled with the light of God. He looks back and deeply longs for the beautiful family life that he once had.

I resonate with this sort of pain. I remember the feeling that I had sitting in that grief recovery group so many years ago. I looked back at the life I had with Ellen before she died and I cried. Sadness filled my heart when I looked back. Then the leader of our group told us that the goal of grieving was to look back and to not be sad but to be able celebrate our memories. As I actively grieved I got to that point. I can now look back and experience joy as I remember our life.

Help us dear Father to deal with our past. Bring us to a point where we can celebrate the good things in it.

He is not there ... I do not perceive him ...

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. (Job 23:8-9 ESV)

These words are spoken in response to Eliphaz the Temanite who ended his instruction to Job with: "You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you". Before Eliphaz and his friends showed up the man covered with boils has probably been praying most of his days. Grieving people pray and, in a sense, it is normal to vent deep emotions to God in prayer. The Lord has big shoulders and we should cast our burdens on him. He loves us and cares so much for us.

Yet prayer can sometimes be such a lonely proposition. A grieving person can feel so alone. In these times we so want to know God is there yet we, like Job, "do not perceive him" or feel his presence. In times like these I have found solace in the words of Holy Scripture. Though my prayers do not seem to reach heaven I am comforted by Christ's promise to never leave me or forsake me. In times of darkness I have come to trust what he says more than what I feel.

Come Holy Spirit. You are the Comforter. Help grieving people all over the world to know you are there.

If ... Then ...

If you return to the Almighty you will be built up;
if you remove injustice far from your tents,
if you lay gold in the dust, and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver.
For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.
You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows.
(Job 22:23-27 ESV)

Eliphaz the Temanite seems to have the antidote for Job's problems. Don't you just love people that spout formulaic prose to suffering people? There was a time when rules, principles and formulas really seemed to work for me. I had a complex system of principles that I lived by even though I imagined myself to be, generally speaking, led by the Holy Spirit. It is the tension that many of us face when we lean on our own "Christian" understanding of life.

The intense pain of grief can never be eased by rules, principles or formulas. Our mind is not geared to deal with loss because it cannot deal with things that are unfathomable. When the loss of my first wife set in my formulas stopped working - rules are no match for pain because loss is not experienced by the logical part of us. There is no logic to grief. Grief is so irrational. Grieving is an issue of trusting God with our heart and not leaning on our understanding.

Help us Lord today to trust you with all of our heart - even when we grieve.

Look at me and be appalled ...

Look at me and be appalled, and lay your hand over your mouth. When I remember, I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my flesh. Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? (Job 21:5-7 ESV)

Zophar the Naamathite has just unleashed a diatribe in which he insinuates that Job is evil. His attack was brutal and now Job, in these verses above, tries to respond to his accusations. What do you do when you are called evil by a so-called friend? And how is it that such an accusation has only surfaced when something so horrible has happened to him? In times of grief intense emotions can emerge. Things hidden deep within can come to bear in such ugly ways.

The painful boils are one thing for Job to deal with but every now and then he is reminded of his appalling appearance. And when he gazes at his reflection he shudders and wonders why the wicked seem to be treated better. When we suffer (or are suffering) great loss our mind goes to dark places and the fairness (or unfairness) of life enters our thinking. In times like these it is so easy to be angry with God - even if we do not blame him for our pain.

Please, dear Lord Jesus, bring healing ministry to those who are grieving and hurt so much.

I know that my Redeemer lives ...

Then Job answered and said: “How long will you torment me and break me in pieces with words? These ten times you have cast reproach upon me; are you not ashamed to wrong me? (Job 19:1-3)For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! (19:25-27)

It seems so obvious to me that Job is getting weary of debating with his friends. He even recalls the number of times that they have spoken disparagingly to him. Stepping back from the intensity of the interactions I have to wonder what the setting was like and how long it went on. Were they around a table? Could it be that they were sipping on wine and noshing on food as they talked? Maybe there was a note taker? I wonder what the atmosphere was like?

In the midst of this arduous debate hope seems to rise as Job speaks. The role of hope is so important in life. It is even more important to those who grieve. I think that is why faith is so important in navigating the deep emotions that surface when we grieve. It is why Job's profession that his Redeemer lives and that he will see God when he dies is so important. I think that, without a hope based on faith, it is so easy for grief to become despair and depression.

Help us to be people of hope Lord. Remind us when we struggle that our Redeemer lives.

Why are we stupid in your sight?

Why are we stupid in your sight? (Job 18:3 ESV)

In what seems to be an utter frustration, Bildad the Shuhite speaks these words in response to Job's last troubling discourse. He has heard his friend call him names and tell him that he is a miserable comforter. Bildad is at his wits end with the man covered in boils. It makes you wonder why Bildad and his buddies came to see Job in the first place. I wonder what they expected. Perhaps they thought that Job's loss would not have affected him this deeply?

Talking to a person that is grieving a great loss can be a very awkward task because each of us grieves so differently. I especially found that to be true with teens and children. And sometimes it is difficult because we are grieving as well. Yet it is so important to simply acknowledge the loss that our friend or loved one has suffered, and express our sadness or sorrow at the pain that they are going through. Simply being there for them is such a gift.

Help us Lord to be there when those close to us are in pain. Give us encouraging words to say.

My spirit is broken ...

“My spirit is broken; my days are extinct; the graveyard is ready for me. Surely there are mockers about me, and my eye dwells on their provocation. “He has made me a byword of the peoples, and I am one before whom men spit. My days are past; my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart. (Job 17:1-2,6,11 ESV)

Though it is difficult to hear these words I think that it is therapeutic for Job to speak them. Sometimes our painful words simply need to be heard. I can relate a bit. Months after my first wife passed away I began to experience the enormity of my loss - I thought that I was losing my mind. I had no context to deal with my pain and needed help. About that time a chaplain invited me to a five week long grief recovery workshop. It was there that I would learn to grieve and to heal.

In the first session the chaplain spoke to us of stepping into our pain. He said that if we did not then we would walk around it for years and never release the pain. He asked us to take a week and write out what we were experiencing. The following week each of us read what we wrote to the group. Here is what I wrote:

At every thought of her my heart breaks. It is like half of me is no longer alive.
We were so much a part of each other that it is hard to go on without her.

My soul aches within me and there is no comfort except the knowing that she no longer suffers.
Knowing that she is in the presence of God helps.

My flesh wants to move on with my life but my heart wants to remain in the past. Our life was so full together.
It is hard to imagine happiness without my Ellen.
As I cried through those words with the group I felt such deep pain being released. There is something wonderful about simply being "heard" by people. Perhaps the book of Job would not have been so long if his friends simply listened to him express his pain and speak of his broken heart? Maybe listening with empathy is what being a friend is all about?

Help us Lord to be quiet in the presence of wounded friends. Teach us to be there for them and to listen with empathy.

My pain is not assuaged.

I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all. Shall windy words have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you and shake my head at you. I could strengthen you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.
(Job 16:2-5 ESV)

Solomon in Proverbs says that our words have to the power to bring life or death to those who listen to what we say. In this response to Eliphaz the Temanite Job seems to be saying something similar. Can you imagine what it must have been like for Job to be accosted with hateful words as he sat grieving the loss of his children and of his health? What is it in us that feels a need to speak to people in grief the way that Job's friends spoke to him.

A friend recently asked me why well meaning Christians use Christian clichés when speaking to victims of extreme pain or loss. I told him that we are sometimes trained to think in cliches in church - the "You give and take away" refrain in that popular worship song is an example of a bad religious cliché. Yet sometimes we can get past the clichés. On occasion we find words that bring strength and courage to grieving people ... words that assuage their pain.

Bring words of life to my mind Lord. Give me words that assuage the pain of grieving friends.

What is man, that he can be pure?

What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous? Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight; how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water! (Job 15:14-16 ESV)

This view of God's creation, voiced by Eliphaz the Temanite as he speaks to Job a second time, is common among many religious people. It builds on the theological idea of original sin and posits that humans, because of sin, are worthy of God's disdain. Though it is a popular view, in the case of Job it is absolutely wrong because God says of Job "there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil".

When bad things happen to people like Job there can be a temptation to say that they caused it because of a lack of faith or sin. People insinuated such things when my first wife received prayer for healing but was not healed. The tendency in some is to look to the sin of others instead of our own sin. It is why Jesus commanded that we remove the log from our own eye before we try to remove another's splinter. Often the one who is hurt and grieving is blameless.

Help me Lord to always be compassionate and loving when I interact with hurting people.

If a man dies, shall he live again?

“For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. (14:7) But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he? As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up, so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep. Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.(14:10-14)

There is something about the passing of a loved one that sets our minds on eternity and causes us to contemplate our own mortality. In an instant Job lost ten children. He must have wondered if he would ever see them again. His mind wanders and wonders about those that were so very dear to him. When Ellen, my first wife, died I daily pondered what it would be like to be reunited with her in heaven. It is so hard to let go when your heart is encompassed by grief.

In these few sentences Job expresses what many of us wrestle with. Each of us struggles with our own mortality and the finite nature of our physical existence. Some people believe that they are immortal and will survive death in some fashion. Ye many live in a way that testifies to their belief that this life is all there is. People in pain, grieving people, are confronted with their loss every day and so want another opportunity to see their loved ones again.

Lord, help grieving people to know that eternal life can begin this side of the grave through a spiritual birth.

Though he slay me, I will hope in him.

Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. (12:9-10) Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. (13:15) Only grant me two things, then I will not hide myself from your face: withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me. (13:20-21) Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy? (13:24)

There is a view of the sovereignty of God that asserts that God has an active role in everything that happens in the earth. This view asserts, as Job states in his reply to Zophar, that God does bad things as well as good things. It is different from a view of sovereignty that acknowledges a more passive divine role - a view in which God allows bad things to happen to people. It is an important delineation because of the way that it paints God and divine love.

I have heard the "Though he slay me" verse used in a sermon to illustrate the faith of Job. To me, the verse reflects a dark imagery of the almighty that I am pretty uncomfortable with. I have been in such dark places where my posture is argumentative and my attitude one of bargaining. Such bargaining is evidence that Job is grieving. He wants the pain to stop and has no one to bargain with except the perceived author of his pain. Yet he finds no comfort in bargaining.

In our pain dear God, help us to know that you are our friend and do not count us as your enemy.

I am a laughingstock to my friends.

I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock. (Job 12:4 ESV)

Here is Job, seemingly stuck in grief, yet ever so mindful of a second phenomenon – people are watching, whispering and wondering if Job’s God will vindicate him. The stress of this phenomenon weighs heavy upon Job. As a leader he was very visible – he had a place of honor in the market square. But now calamity has struck and whispering has begun – everyone that once honored and respected him is now calling his character into question.

These whisperers believe that Job must have committed a serious sin to receive such "discipline" from God. When Job needed to feel a sense of support the most, all he could feel was a sense of finger pointing. Why is it that people run to judgement? What is it in each of us that rejoices when calamity strikes another? Why is it that people who are victims themselves are blamed for events and acts that they have no control over and that they do not understand?

Forgive us Lord for the many ways that we whisper, gossip and point fingers at people who are victims.

You will forget your misery ...

You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away. And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security. You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will court your favor. (11:16-19)

A third friend, Zophar, now responds with (what appears to be) sage advice to Job's last anger filled discourse. Before giving him this (so called) wisdom he blasts Job with condemnation questioning Job's claims of being blameless and accusing him of being a babbling worthless man. His soliloquy is filled with pious clichés that seem to defend God and list the reasons for this perceived divine judgment. These words above are his interpretations of God's promises.

As he speaks, Zophar seems to exude a brash confidence that he is right about Job and why tragedy has befallen him. He seems assured that he has the antidote for what ails Job. I have been around people like Zophar who seem to have all of the "biblical" answers for my pain. They give advice that reveals such a cluelessness approach to pain. Advice such as this only angers people that are in pain and keeps them stuck in grief. The advice seems wise. It is foolish.

Put a guard over my mouth Lord. Help me to not inflame the anger of a hurting friend with foolish religious clichés.

Pages