Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Then Job replied:
“If only my anguish could be weighed
    and all my misery be placed on the scales!
It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—
    no wonder my words have been impetuous.
The arrows of the Almighty are in me,
    my spirit drinks in their poison;
    God’s terrors are marshaled against me.
Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass,
    or an ox bellow when it has fodder?
Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
    or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow?
I refuse to touch it;
    such food makes me ill.
“Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant what I hope for,
that God would be willing to crush me,
    to let loose his hand and cut off my life!
Then I would still have this consolation—
    my joy in unrelenting pain—
    that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.
“What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
    What prospects, that I should be patient?
Do I have the strength of stone?
    Is my flesh bronze?
Do I have any power to help myself,
    now that success has been driven from me?
“Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend
    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,
    as the streams that overflow
when darkened by thawing ice
    and swollen with melting snow,
but that stop flowing in the dry season,
    and in the heat vanish from their channels.
Caravans turn aside from their routes;
    they go off into the wasteland and perish.
The caravans of Tema look for water,
    the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope.
They are distressed, because they had been confident;
    they arrive there, only to be disappointed.
Now you too have proved to be of no help;
    you see something dreadful and are afraid.
Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
    pay a ransom for me from your wealth,
deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
    rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?
“Teach me, and I will be quiet;
    show me where I have been wrong.
How painful are honest words!
    But what do your arguments prove?
Do you mean to correct what I say,
    and treat my desperate words as wind?
You would even cast lots for the fatherless
    and barter away your friend.
“But now be so kind as to look at me.
    Would I lie to your face?
Relent, do not be unjust;
    reconsider, for my integrity is at stake.
Is there any wickedness on my lips?
    Can my mouth not discern malice?

• Job 6:1-30

“Do not mortals have hard service on earth?
    Are not their days like those of hired laborers?
Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,
    or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,
so I have been allotted months of futility,
    and nights of misery have been assigned to me.
When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’
    The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.
My body is clothed with worms and scabs,
    my skin is broken and festering.
“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
    and they come to an end without hope.
Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;
    my eyes will never see happiness again.
The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
    you will look for me, but I will be no more.
As a cloud vanishes and is gone,
    so one who goes down to the grave does not return.
He will never come to his house again;
    his place will know him no more.
“Therefore I will not keep silent;
    I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
    I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,
    that you put me under guard?
When I think my bed will comfort me
    and my couch will ease my complaint,
even then you frighten me with dreams
    and terrify me with visions,
so that I prefer strangling and death,
    rather than this body of mine.
I despise my life; I would not live forever.
    Let me alone; my days have no meaning.
“What is mankind that you make so much of them,
    that you give them so much attention,
that you examine them every morning
    and test them every moment?
Will you never look away from me,
    or let me alone even for an instant?
If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
    you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?
    Have I become a burden to you?
Why do you not pardon my offenses
    and forgive my sins?
For I will soon lie down in the dust;
    you will search for me, but I will be no more.”

• Job 7:1-21

Job 6:10  ”Job had not refrained from an open confession of his own faith in God; he had been known in the gates of the city as a worshiper of the Lord, one that feared God and rejected evil. He had never hidden his faith but had acknowledged one God.  While many gods and lords divided the loyalty of nations, Job was true to the only God and believed his words as they were revealed to him. Nor was he content with an open confession of his own faith. Job had continually communicated what he knew to others. He had taught his family-where all teaching should begin. He had taught his fellow citizens by his example-the most powerful of all teaching. Never had he wandered into idolatry or worshiped the sun when it shined, but he had openly confessed the one and only Lord without fear. So faithful had he been that he cries, ‘Let God weigh me on accurate scales, and he will recognize my integrity’ (31:6). This was high ground to take, but it evidently strengthened the good man’s heart to bear his troubles, and it will do the same for us if we can win the same witness from our consciences.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from his sermon notes

The Message

Job laments his pain.  He wishes God would crush him to take away the pain, but he stays true to God.

Then he turns on his friends.  He gives the metaphor that rain and snow fall in abundance when you don’t need them, but in the hot summer months the water dries up.  Friends should be helpful and not find fault.

Then Job asks them to show him where he has failed.  Teach him.

Job feels that there is no laughter in his future.  He feels this is the end.  Yet, his friends attack his character.  Soon they will look for him and he will be no more.

The one line that struck me was in Job 7:16.  My wife lamented once that her life had no meaning.  Her life was very meaningful.  People saw her smile when they knew she was in unspeakable pain.  She encouraged everyone she met, especially the other kidney dialysis patients.

And now let us sing.

The following song is We Lift the Suffering to You, Lord.  This is provided by Anytime Inspiration, singer unnamed.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  Lord, we suffer.  Sometimes, we see no earthly healing.  Sometimes we feel that there is no meaning in the next breath that we take.  Even so, we depend on You.  If You give us one more breath, may it count for the good of Your kingdom.  In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.