Maybe you are going through
something that makes you feel like your life is over, your dreams can
never come true, and your hope has died. In Job 17 verse 1, Job made the
statement:
“My spirit is broken, my
days are cut short, the grave awaits me.”
Sometimes we go through
periods of suffering that make us think that our lives are over. It may
be sickness, or financial problems—even bankruptcy. It may be what the
doctors call an incurable disease or a disability. It may be the death
of a loved one. Or, it may be growing old. It may be arrest and
incarceration---even a life sentence.
These are all tragic things to
go through. They are life altering. We may think that our days of
productivity and usefulness are gone—that all we have to look forward to
is more suffering.
For Job, it was the loss of
all of his children and his fortune. And then, after losing all he had
and loved, he became ill what seemed to be an incurable disease that not
only caused him horrible pain and suffering, but also isolated him from
his family and friends. Many of us have been isolated from our friends
and loved ones—usually not by choice. But, people tend to avoid those
who are going through this kind of suffering. They just don’t know how
to handle it. Almost all of Job’s family and friends avoided him when he
got so sick.
Well, not all friends;
he had a few left who came to visit him and, to their credit, they
remained silent for quite a while. Of course, they could have tried
comforting him or offering help. But, no—they were probably too busy
thinking of all the lovely things they were going to say to him in order
to “help” him out.
Finally, they started speaking
and once they did, you couldn’t have stopped them with a nuclear blast.
They all had their ammunition ready—1001 reasons why Job was sick and
1001 sure ways for him to get better. Ever had that happen to
you? I bet we could all tell some stories.
Jobs friends did not hesitate
to tell him all the reasons why he was sick and going through tragedy.
He must really have sinned. He must have missed the boat. They had come
to comfort him and, instead, ended up accusing him of everything that
they could think of---and they sure could think of a lot of things. If
Job was suffering before, he was suffering even more since his friends
started “comforting” him.
I think most of us have had
friends like that somewhere along the line—people who think we lack
faith, or maybe we’ve committed some unspeakable sin—or surely we’d be
healed. That’s what happened to Job.
Poor Job. Even his wife told
him to just “curse God and die” and with that bit of helpful advice,
just walked away and left him to his devoted friends. A note here; we
don’t often talk about Job’s wife because there’s very little written
about her. But she was suffering too. She had lost ALL her children and
her possessions. Her husband, who believed so strongly in God, was so
sick and so horrifying to look at that he was separate from everyone
else and alone. She couldn’t
comfort him because she had no comfort herself, and also didn’t have
anywhere near the faith that Job had. So Satan used her to tell Job to
do the thing satan had “prophesied” that Job would do: “curse God and
die”. Beware of what you listen to when you’re suffering. Your nearest
and dearest will try to get you to accuse God.
Job pretty much knew that the
things everyone around him were saying were wrong, but he just didn’t
know what he could do about it. He was in confusion and utter despair
and thought that all the goodness in life was over. He had no future. He
said:
11
My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of
my heart
Have you ever felt like that?
Maybe you even feel like that now. Well, there’s good news for you.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Your life is not over; God has
wonderful plans for your future and, what you think you’ve lost, God can
restore or give you something better. He did it for Job.
First, God came to Job and
asked Him some questions, like where were you when I made the heaven and
earth? Where were you when I made the sun, the moon, the stars? He showed Himself to Job in a way that made Job put his hand over
his mouth and quit questioning God. And it sure made his dear friends
shut up.
When Job saw and heard the
Glory of God, he truly humbled Himself and repented—not of some secret
sin or horrible deed—but of not truly appreciating the Power, Knowledge,
and Grace of God. And when He repented, God told him to pray for his
friends, who had not spoken truth. If Job hadn’t prayed for them, who
knows what would have happened—to them or to Job. We need to forgive and
to pray for those who have hurt us--even if they've accused us of things
we never did. If we want to receive mercy, we have to give mercy.
Job 42:10 After Job had
prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him
twice as much as he had before.
Yes, God did amazing things for Job and even brought real
friends to comfort and console him for what he had gone through.
11
All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came
and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all
the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece
of silver [a]
and a gold ring.He healed him and restored his life, his relationships,
his fortune. He gave him wonderful children and his last days were
better than his former days.
The joys of the past were
nothing compared to what Job had in the future. God comforted, healed and restored him, and gave him a fruitful and
purpose filled life.
16
After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and
their children to the fourth generation. 17 And
so he died, old and full of years.
That’s what God wants to do
for you!! No matter what you’ve lost or what you’re going through, God
can and will restore you! He has a great plan for your future.
“ I know what I'm doing. I have it all
planned out--plans to take care of you,
not abandon you, plans to give you the
future you hope for.
"When you call on me, when you come and
pray to me, I'll listen.
