Job: Chapters 6-7

Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just

Shenandoah National Park | Virginia 

Job has this very human idea that if God were to balance out the good vs. bad in his life that he would come out on the good side. He believes, falsely, that he could save himself as it were. This is an unfortunate idea that I believe we all get caught in at one time or another. Pride sets in and we believe that we don't deserve the turmoil we may endure. How dare I accuse God of what I have endured because of Him? How dare you accuse me of not suffering, I am stuck in a daily vicious circle of never-ending pain. God has chosen me to be punished by Satan and He has struck me with many arrows. All are stacked against me and I cannot overcome it. Am I better than the animals who moan when the fields fail to yield? I only ask for one thing from God and He refuses it from me. I ask that He would crush me and cut me off - allow me to perish. What is the point of me going on anymore? Does this glorify God? I cannot endure, I am not made of stone but of flesh, flesh that is born into sin and cannot overcome it. God is my strength and power but He has turned away from me. My friends come to try and help me but they do not, they only turn away in the harshest of times and tell me that I should do that which cannot be done. You've seen my treachery and have turned away from me, yet I requested nothing from you. Show me what I have done to offend you and I will be quiet. Do not turn away from me but listen and face me, I ask only to know the reason for this betrayal. Do you believe I cannot handle the truth about why I am being punished?

My Life Has No Hope:

We are all confined to our time on earth and all of us are faced with hardship in some form or fashion. Why must I be this way, constrained to the suffering that is before I laid empty on the ground with no rest? My nights are long and void of meaning, for tomorrow will come and I will awake to my same circumstance. My body is broken and riddled with disease, all throughout the day I have no hope in life, I can no longer see any good, it is gone from me. My perspective is shattered and I only hold on to bitterness in my soul. None who see me know me, I am but a beggar on the street corner with nothing to offer, only to be pitied. Even as I try to find comfort in my bed you give me nightmares of what is to come, visions of pain and suffering. I cannot stand my life or lack thereof and I would ask you to leave me alone, be gone from my side. What is it about me that you find intriguing? Why did you choose me to punish? Why am I tested every day? Why don't you forgive me and allow me to leave in peace? I am to be left on earth and you will not find me. 

Job is very lost in his trial, who can blame him? He is confounded as to why God is punishing him and cannot find an answer. His friends, attempting to help, are trying to show Job that God does love him. Unfortunately, it is not working. Job has grown very bitter throughout his circumstances and seeks to flee from it all. He longs to be dead and wishes that it would come swiftly. I cannot comprehend what Job has endured, however, as someone who was diagnosed with Stage IVb Metastatic Melanoma over 2 months ago, there is an understanding of the physical pain and psychological game that goes on within me. It is challenging to focus on God's love for me when I feel that I don't deserve the current trial, haven't I gone through enough? I feel a lot like David when he cries out to God in the Psalms asking: why have I been forsaken by you? It isn't fair that a 27-year-old who is in extremely good shape and overall health is enduring something terminal like this disease. However, realizing that everything I have ever had is God's, I understand that I don't deserve anything better than death. My life is a gift because I was born into sin and given no hope of reaching Heaven if not for the cross and Christ dying on it. I was a slave to my sin, bound to a life of serving my sin, shackles had me tied to a cross of pride that wouldn't let go, without the Grace of God I would never be in His presence. That is more than enough and way more than I deserve.

Dear lord, sin entered this world when Adam and Eve chose to ignore your commands and become deceitful. I know that I am no better than any other man and require the full punishment of my sin. Thank you for sending Christ to save me and all others who place their faith in You. There are many who remain lost around me, I pray that you will grant me the wisdom and courage to show them your love. I have been given a thorn in the flesh that gives me an opportunity to show your love on a grand scale due to the severity of my disease. Show me how to do this well. Amen. 

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