This chapter is Job’s infamous lament, where he rues the day of his birth.
“Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire? Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave? For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.” (v11,20-22,25-26)
Job emotionally, and poetically, lays his heart out in front of God and his friends. He is distraught, yet he does not sin – he laments without cursing God or anyone else. He mourns his current circumstances, and longs to be free from them, wishing he had never been born, or that he would now experience death. I know this sounds a little melodramatic, but very few (or none) of us have experienced loss like Job – he lost literally everything he had in this world. He is understandably upset.
Like Job, Jesus experiences great loss and mourning: “Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. Jesus wept.” (Jn 11:32-33,35)
Though Lazarus was Jesus’ friend, Jesus didn’t weep until He was moved deeply by Mary and the other mourners. God meets us where we’re at, in our pain and suffering, in our times of lament. He feels our sorrow, and sits with us in it, like Jesus did with Mary, and Job’s friends did with him.
My encouragement for today is no matter what your current circumstances are, and no matter how you approach God, He will meet you there. Whether joyful or sad, angry or loving, God understands the deepest emotions of our hearts, for He is the originator of all emotion (we’re made in is image). Let’s come to God today, as we are, and simply be present with Him, and He will meet us there.
Father God, Almighty Lord and King, great and holy is Your name. We come before You a broken and flawed people, in desperate need of Your healing power. Father please meet us where we’re at, and love us unconditionally, as You have promised. Please give us comfort and peace beyond understanding, and teach us the joy of the Spirit, even when circumstances are adverse. We praise You, for Your steadfast love endures forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training