Job: 23 Then Job spoke again:
2 “My complaint today is still a bitter one,
and I try hard not to groan aloud.
3 If only I knew where to find God,
I would go to his court.
4 I would lay out my case
and present my arguments.
5 Then I would listen to his reply
and understand what he says to me.
6 Would he use his great power to argue with me?
No, he would give me a fair hearing.
7 Honest people can reason with him,
so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.
8 I go east, but he is not there.
I go west, but I cannot find him.
9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.
I look to the south, but he is concealed.
and I try hard not to groan aloud.
3 If only I knew where to find God,
I would go to his court.
4 I would lay out my case
and present my arguments.
5 Then I would listen to his reply
and understand what he says to me.
6 Would he use his great power to argue with me?
No, he would give me a fair hearing.
7 Honest people can reason with him,
so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.
8 I go east, but he is not there.
I go west, but I cannot find him.
9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.
I look to the south, but he is concealed.
10 “But he knows where I am going.
And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
11 For I have stayed on God’s paths;
I have followed his ways and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from his commands,
but have treasured his words more than daily food.
13 But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind?
Whatever he wants to do, he does.
14 So he will do to me whatever he has planned.
He controls my destiny.
15 No wonder I am so terrified in his presence.
When I think of it, terror grips me.
16 God has made me sick at heart;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Darkness is all around me;
thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.
And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
11 For I have stayed on God’s paths;
I have followed his ways and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from his commands,
but have treasured his words more than daily food.
13 But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind?
Whatever he wants to do, he does.
14 So he will do to me whatever he has planned.
He controls my destiny.
15 No wonder I am so terrified in his presence.
When I think of it, terror grips me.
16 God has made me sick at heart;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Darkness is all around me;
thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.
I think a lot of people stop there. Thick impenetrable darkness......... If you haven't read any other part of Job and if this is the only part you ever read you would think Job is in misery forever. However when we look to the beginning we can see a man who had it all and lost it all. A man lost in the darkness. A man who cried out to God.
Are you lost? So many of us are today. We lie to ourselves. We lie to our friends. We lie to our family. The feelings of hopelessness. The losses of loved ones, jobs, dreams, and even sometimes hope can cripple you. They can wound you to your very soul, and the wounds they leave behind seem too deep to heal.
So what if Job had stopped there? Why didn't he just give up? What was worth fighting for?
If you lose everything who are you? If you lost everyone who would you be? Could you go on? Could you trust God?
I want to share an exerpt from a story that Kupendwa Ministries posted:
"Jaja Teresa is a Rwandan lady who is now 80 years old. She ran from Rwanda and settled in Uganda, as she was forced out of Rwanda because of the genocide war that broke out years ago. She managed to escape and settle in Uganda amidst all the turmoil and chaos in her country. Jaja Teresa’s husband and all of her children have died, leaving her a widow with very little help. Her children were kidnapped during the time of Idi Amin’s regime of power in Uganda and her children were taken to fight in the war.
Teresa says she was so grieved that she almost committed suicide. She thought that she would be able to raise her children up, love them and see them grow for many years, but even up to now she still grieves for her children as they were killed, murdered and tortured during the war. She wishes that she could have at least seen them again before they died and were buried. Our hearts were so touched and burdened by this precious woman’s need for both love and compassion, as well as tangible help.
We so desperately wanted to help Jaja Teresa because she is in such desperate need of help and most of all love. Teresa’s house was leaking very badly; she had no mattress and was sleeping on hard plywood on the dirt floor. She has very little food but she tries to garden and plant crops for herself to eat to live. Teresa’s house had many holes in it because it was built out of sticks and mud. She says that snakes would come in and out of her house constantly, and there were many spiders inside when we visited. She would get very cold at night because of the condition of her house."
To read the story further you can click on the Kupendwa Ministries at the top it is a link to the story. This woman lost everything and yet she went on. Job also suffered great loss and he went on. So the question is not how much loss you can suffer, but the question is how much joy can you find? Many people find joy in such simple things after great loss. I once heard a man say the economy took his 7,000 square foot home, his 10 cars, his yacht, and it gave him back his life.
What do you have to lose before you find God?
