BACKGROUND
Job continues talking to his friends and tells them that what they have told him is worthless. They think they speak for God, but they don't and God will reprove them for it.
Then he speaks to God and asks him to remove his oppressive hand and give Job some relief. Then he asks God to meet him and tell him why he has to suffer so.
In chapter 14, Job speaks of his hopelessness. Even a tree that is cut down has more hope of survival than Job does!
REFLECTION
Generally, when we suffer intense grief or pain, we have a human tendency toward hopelessness. True hope can only come from God, not man's philosophies. Poor Job, did not have all the revelation of God that we have today.
When Paul was suffering affliction he wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians, "For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ" (2 Cor 1:5). He went on to say:
For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us (2 Cor 1:8-10)
APPLICATION
1 Peter 1:13 says, "Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Now that's something to put our hope in!
PRAYER
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Romans 15:13)
1 comment:
I do want to point out, also, that Paul said they "were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life." There was a period of time when he was in deep despair. Paul himself also prayed for relief when he asked for the "thorn in the flesh" to be removed.
That hope doesn't always come instantly as we suffer, but often comes through the suffering, and often not right away.
I am not sure that Paul would have acted any differently than Job, had he suffered as Job did. Even though his revelation of God was more complete, he still didn't know "why."
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