Devotional Thoughts: No theological work books in the hospital?

Job 10.

Wow!

I don't know about you but when I'm discouraged to the point of being in the fetal position I have almost zero ability to articulate what it is I'm feeling. Job here in vivid poetic language described his despair.

I loathe my very life;
therefore I will give free rein to my complaint
and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say to God: Do not condemn me,
but tell me what charges you have against me.
Does it please you to oppress me,
to spurn the work of your hands,
while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?
Do you have eyes of flesh?
Do you see as a mortal sees?
Are your days like those of a mortal
or your years like those of a man,
that you must search out my faults
and probe after my sin -
though you know that I am not guilty
and that no one can rescue me from your hand?
Your hands shaped me and made me.
Will you now turn and destroy me?
Remember that you molded me like clay.
Will you now turn me to dust again?
Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese,
clothe me with skin and flesh
and knit me together with bones and sinews?
You gave me life and showed me kindness,
and in your providence watched over my spirit.
But this is what you concealed in your heart,
and I know that this was in your mind:
If I sinned, you would be watching me
and would not let my offense go unpunished.
If I am guilty - woe to me!
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,
for I am full of shame
and drowned in my affliction.
If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion
and again display your awesome power against me.
You bring new witnesses against me
and increase your anger toward me;
your forces come against me wave upon wave.
Why then did you bring me out of the womb?
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.
If only I had never come into being,
or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!
Are not my few days almost over?
Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy
before I go to the place of no return,
to the land of gloom and deep shadow,
to the land of deepest night,
of deep shadow and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness.

What could one possibly add to that?

What pastoral and devotional message can we get from here?

I took at look at the notes of one of my study Bibles and this is what the editor said: Job imagines that God is angry with him, an innocent man (Job 9:28), and that he takes delight in the wicked. Such words are a reminder that the sickroom is not the place to argue theology; in times of severe suffering, people may say things that require a response of love and understanding. Job himself will eventually repent, and God will forgive (Job 42:1-6).

Lord, grant to those who minister to the sick wisdom. Help me in my journey of faith to have understanding upon those who are in difficulty. And when I'm the one in difficulty, may I receive your comfort and the gracious understanding of those you have given me to share the adventure of life with. Amen.

1 comment:

Nick Warnes said...

Job has been a close friend... What a marvelous text! Thanks for sharing...

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