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tinpraGod's Presence in Suffering
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 2:11--13
The book of Job is not only a witness to the dignity of suffering and God's presence in our suffering, but it's also our primary biblical protest against religion that has been reduced to explanations or "answers." Many of the answers that Job's so-called friends give him are technically true. But it is the "technical" part that ruins them. They are answers without personal relationship, intellect without intimacy. The answers are slapped onto Job's ravaged life like labels on a specimen bottle. In response, Job rages against this secularized wisdom that has lost touch with the living realities of God.
The late (and I might add great) Joe Bayly and his wife, Mary Lou, lost three of their children. They lost one son following surgery when he was only eighteen days old. They also lost the second boy at age five because of leukemia. They then lost a third son at eighteen years after a sledding accident, because of complications related to his hemophilia.
Joe writes in a wonderful book, The Last Thing We Talk About:
You have done it right when those in agony hate to see you go.
We must leave Job in his misery for now. We're mere onlookers. Had we lived in his day, there is no way we could say, "I know how you feel." We don't. We can't even imagine. But we do care. Our presence and our tears say much more than our words.
Words have a hollow ring in a crucible.
Expressing Grief
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 3:1--26
There are days too dark for the sufferer to see light. That's where Job is as we end this chapter. Unfortunately, his so-called friends will not bring him any relief. Like Job, you may not have seen light for a long time either.
There are experiences too extreme for the hurting to maintain hope. When a person drops so low due to inner pain, it's as if all hope is lost. That's why Job admits his lack of ease, his absence of peace, and his deep unrest.
There are valleys too deep for the anguished to find relief. It seems, at that point, there is no reason to go on. We run out of places to look to find relief. It's then that our minds play tricks on us, making us think that not even God cares. Wrong! Do you remember the line that Corrie ten Boom used to quote? I often call it to mind: "There is no pit so deep but that He is not deeper still." I know, I know. Those who are deeply depressed don't remember that and can't reason with it. They would deny such a statement because they feel a vast distance between them and God, and it's confusing---it's frightening. But the good news is that God is not only there . . . He cares.
It is noteworthy that there is no blast against Job at the end of chapter 3. God doesn't say, "Shame on you, Job." God could handle Job's words. He understood why he said what he said. He understands you too. Unfortunately, Job has his words on record for preachers to talk about for centuries. Yours and mine, thankfully, will hopefully remain a secret inside our cars, or in the back part of our bedrooms, or along the crashing surf, or perhaps under tall trees in a forest. God can handle it all; so let it all out. Tell Him all that's in your heart. You never get over grief completely until you express it fully. Job didn't hold back. And I admire him more now than when I first began the book.
Look up to find the Light.
Good and Bad Advice
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 3:1--26
Every person reading this chapter has been the recipient of bad advice. You listened as someone gave it to you. You followed the counsel you received and then suffered the consequences. We have all benefited from someone's good advice too. We were unsure and confused, so we reached out to somebody we trusted. We received good counsel, followed the advice, and enjoyed the benefits.
Take for example Proverbs 12:15: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel." You and I have experienced those very words. We have been foolish, thinking we were right, and along came a parent or teacher, perhaps a friend who talked some sense into our heads, thankfully. As a result we benefited from wise counsel.
"As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man" (Proverbs 27:19). I'm sure you have known such occasions. You've had something deep in the well of your heart you've not been able to pull up. Along comes someone who loves you and has the ability to drop a bucket in that deep well of yours, pull it out, then splash the contents around for both of you to see it clearly.
I need to add that wise counsel is not always easy to hear. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy" (Proverbs 27:6). The Hebrew uses an interesting verb stem here. It's known as the "causative stem," which allows us to render the statement: "Trustworthy are the bruises caused by the wounding of one who loves you." The bruise that comes after the verbal blow of one who loves you is a trustworthy bruise. In genuine love, your friend confronts you with the truth---you're alone, in private, and you hear the hard thing that needs to be confronted. That bruise stays with you, and you're a better person for it. Such bruising is much more helpful and reliable than a phony embrace, the "kiss" of a flatterer whom Solomon calls our "enemy." Good counsel is a good thing, even if it hurts to hear it, whether you are the receiver or the giver of that counsel.
Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 2:11--13
The book of Job is not only a witness to the dignity of suffering and God's presence in our suffering, but it's also our primary biblical protest against religion that has been reduced to explanations or "answers." Many of the answers that Job's so-called friends give him are technically true. But it is the "technical" part that ruins them. They are answers without personal relationship, intellect without intimacy. The answers are slapped onto Job's ravaged life like labels on a specimen bottle. In response, Job rages against this secularized wisdom that has lost touch with the living realities of God.
The late (and I might add great) Joe Bayly and his wife, Mary Lou, lost three of their children. They lost one son following surgery when he was only eighteen days old. They also lost the second boy at age five because of leukemia. They then lost a third son at eighteen years after a sledding accident, because of complications related to his hemophilia.
Joe writes in a wonderful book, The Last Thing We Talk About:
I was sitting, torn by grief. Someone came and talked to me of God's dealings, of why it happened, of hope beyond the grave. He talked constantly; he said things I knew were true.
I was unmoved, except I wished he'd go away. He finally did.
Another came and sat beside me. He didn't talk. He didn't ask leading questions. He just sat beside me for an hour and more, listened when I said something, answered briefly, prayed simply, left.
I was moved. I was comforted. I hated to see him go.
You have done it right when those in agony hate to see you go.
We must leave Job in his misery for now. We're mere onlookers. Had we lived in his day, there is no way we could say, "I know how you feel." We don't. We can't even imagine. But we do care. Our presence and our tears say much more than our words.
Words have a hollow ring in a crucible.
Expressing Grief
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 3:1--26
There are days too dark for the sufferer to see light. That's where Job is as we end this chapter. Unfortunately, his so-called friends will not bring him any relief. Like Job, you may not have seen light for a long time either.
There are experiences too extreme for the hurting to maintain hope. When a person drops so low due to inner pain, it's as if all hope is lost. That's why Job admits his lack of ease, his absence of peace, and his deep unrest.
There are valleys too deep for the anguished to find relief. It seems, at that point, there is no reason to go on. We run out of places to look to find relief. It's then that our minds play tricks on us, making us think that not even God cares. Wrong! Do you remember the line that Corrie ten Boom used to quote? I often call it to mind: "There is no pit so deep but that He is not deeper still." I know, I know. Those who are deeply depressed don't remember that and can't reason with it. They would deny such a statement because they feel a vast distance between them and God, and it's confusing---it's frightening. But the good news is that God is not only there . . . He cares.
It is noteworthy that there is no blast against Job at the end of chapter 3. God doesn't say, "Shame on you, Job." God could handle Job's words. He understood why he said what he said. He understands you too. Unfortunately, Job has his words on record for preachers to talk about for centuries. Yours and mine, thankfully, will hopefully remain a secret inside our cars, or in the back part of our bedrooms, or along the crashing surf, or perhaps under tall trees in a forest. God can handle it all; so let it all out. Tell Him all that's in your heart. You never get over grief completely until you express it fully. Job didn't hold back. And I admire him more now than when I first began the book.
Look up to find the Light.
Good and Bad Advice
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 3:1--26
Every person reading this chapter has been the recipient of bad advice. You listened as someone gave it to you. You followed the counsel you received and then suffered the consequences. We have all benefited from someone's good advice too. We were unsure and confused, so we reached out to somebody we trusted. We received good counsel, followed the advice, and enjoyed the benefits.
Take for example Proverbs 12:15: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel." You and I have experienced those very words. We have been foolish, thinking we were right, and along came a parent or teacher, perhaps a friend who talked some sense into our heads, thankfully. As a result we benefited from wise counsel.
"As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man" (Proverbs 27:19). I'm sure you have known such occasions. You've had something deep in the well of your heart you've not been able to pull up. Along comes someone who loves you and has the ability to drop a bucket in that deep well of yours, pull it out, then splash the contents around for both of you to see it clearly.
I need to add that wise counsel is not always easy to hear. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy" (Proverbs 27:6). The Hebrew uses an interesting verb stem here. It's known as the "causative stem," which allows us to render the statement: "Trustworthy are the bruises caused by the wounding of one who loves you." The bruise that comes after the verbal blow of one who loves you is a trustworthy bruise. In genuine love, your friend confronts you with the truth---you're alone, in private, and you hear the hard thing that needs to be confronted. That bruise stays with you, and you're a better person for it. Such bruising is much more helpful and reliable than a phony embrace, the "kiss" of a flatterer whom Solomon calls our "enemy." Good counsel is a good thing, even if it hurts to hear it, whether you are the receiver or the giver of that counsel.
Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.