The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:11-13, 22:5-6, 9-11 (day five) “Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.”

At first glance, Job’s three friends come bringing comfort and kindness. Their motive was sincere- to help their friend. They sat with him- on the ground- and in silence. A closer look at the text might be very telling as to their ultimate effectiveness.  I think their initial presence and silence were both helpful and appropriate. But to sit in silence for seven days seems a bit “eerie” to me. And the text says they didn’t speak a word to him. Perhaps they spoke to each other- further isolating Job and causing even more pain. The friends came with kind intentions, able to sympathize to a point but perhaps were unable to bring real comfort to Job. Pain and suffering tend to bring about loneliness.

I have good news. The cross and resurrection of Jesus means that no believer should ever have to suffer to the same depth of loneliness Job did, because Jesus endured far more suffering and was far more alone- suffering into death – deserted by friends and ultimately His Father. We have a savior who knows and has experienced that kind of suffering. And Jesus sends us His Holy Spirit to be with us and in us always (we are never alone).  Not only that but the Holy Spirit speaks to us (not sitting beside in silence)- reminding us of God’s faithfulness, power, and promises- bringing comfort not isolation. See John 14:16, 26. We don’t have to suffer alone.  Isn’t that good news?!

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:11-13, 22:5-6, 9-11 (day four)

Contrast the two meetings that were held on Job’s behalf.  The first was the heavenly meeting between God and satan.  God saw all of the good in the heart of Job.  Regardless of the circumstances in Job’s life, God knew Job would be true and faithful in his worship of God.  The second meeting was the meeting of Job’s friends who came to sympathize with Job.  They, like satan, saw the circumstances surrounding Job and drew their own conclusions to the situation.  They assumed that Job’s suffering was the result of evil in his heart.  They had no clue that the exact opposite was true.  It was Job’s righteousness that landed him in trouble.

What do you see when you look at others?  Do you see circumstances or do you see hearts and faithfulness to God?  Ask God to give you His eyes…ask Him to keep you from jumping to assumptions and to teach you to discern truth and righteousness in people’s hearts.

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:11-13, 22:5-6, 9-11 (day three)

“Sudden dread terrifies you,
or darkness, so that you cannot see.”

The desire for order runs deep within you. A chaotic universe is a terrifying universe. When you suffer, you might think one of two things: that your suffering results either from some evil you enacted, or from some error in the cosmic workings which God will fix when you voice your complaint to him. Either way proceeds in an orderly, logical fashion. This is the paradigm in which Job’s friends and Job himself seem to operate. But for there simply to be no discernable reason and no remedy on the horizon – this gives rise to alarm. Total darkness and total silence looks and sounds an awful lot like an empty, impersonal universe. Job discovered that very problem long ago. And that’s why we need to explore this book.

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:11-13, 22:5-6, 9-11 (day two) Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great. 2:13

A great bulk of the book of Job contains a discourse between Job and his friends. Much space is given to their perspectives, their advice, and their prodding Job to admit fault. While each argument made by his friends can be analyzed, it is the first action they take that should instruct us most. They sat beside him, and they were quiet. Very few of us are called to be counselors, and almost no one will ever experience the complete loss that Job felt. Sometimes presence is the most reassuring thing you can do for a friend. Are you a fixer? Do you feel compelled to help people figure things out? This is a wonderful attribute in almost any situation, except grief. Learning to sit is a balm. Learning to be quiet is one of the greatest gifts you can learn to give.

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
“Pooh!” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.”― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:11-13, 22:5-6, 9-11 (day one)

Join us as Senior Pastor Chris Johnson, Associate Pastor Aaron Hufty, and Associate Pastor Bryan Richardson walk us through Job 2:11-13, 22:5-6, 9-11 in our Spring Re:Verse Series: “JOB – Through the Storm.”

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day seven)

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day six)

Reflections on Job 3 and Psalm 37:4 while in Kenya.

Would I take delight in the Lord if I had no fresh water to drink, or a bath to stay clean? Would I take delight in the Lord if I had little food to eat? Would I take delight in the Lord if I slept on a dirt floor, and my little brother didn’t make it past four? And what if I had no father who cared, and a mother who had no time to spare? Would I take delight in him then? What if rather than a little, I had nothing at all, and all life around me seemed to hang on only by a thread? Would I take delight in him rather than dread?

Would I take delight in him?

But what if I saw his promise in the colored banner that arched across the sky, or the sun which gave its merciful light? Would I take delight in the Lord? What if I saw that tooth filled smile, and the purest laughter without pretense or guile? The boy kicking the thread bare ball, and my sister with her stick-thatched doll, what if I saw the simplest joy in it all? Or what if someone touched me, and told me of the SON who could rescue me from this merciless life? Would he be enough to pull me through this indiscriminate strife?

What if I saw him in others when they gave of themselves; knew his love, and peace, even when all else failed? What if hope prevailed?

Would I take delight in the Lord?

Yes, yes, even then, with nothing at all, my joy and hope would rest in him.

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day five)

So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”

What we learn about the satan is becomes clearer in the second heavenly council. Satan really doesn’t want Job tested, he wants Job killed. And, he wants God to do it. Peter reminds us of satan’s ultimate goal. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  Not just attacking. Not just harming. But devouring- killing.

God continues to exercise His sovereignty. He limits what satan can do to Job. He gives him permission and instruction in regards to Job. In this scenario of unbearable suffering and sickness, God is still in control. God gives permission- sets the boundaries. Satan can only operate within those. We now watch to see how Job reacts.

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day four)

So…do we really believe that God did not know where Satan had been?  He asked, “Where have you come from?”  He likewise had asked Adam in the garden, “Where are you?”  God is All-Knowing, Omnipresent, and Sovereign over all…He was initiating a conversation to point out truth (or lack of it) in the world.

Satan was, and is, the very essence of evil.  He truly believed that if God removed His blessing from Job, he would turn against God.  Satan could not fathom a heart wholly devoted in worship to God.  He thought that every action was controlled by our circumstances.  Change the circumstances and the heart response would be different.  This worldview could be very true if it were not for the presence and reality of God and His love.

What about your heart?  Are you dependent on your circumstances in how you respond to the Lord?  When trials come your way, will you lament your losses and turn against God or will you worship and exalt God?  Let Job be our example…”Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day three)

“Why is light given to him who suffers,
And life to the bitter of soul,
 Who long for death, but there is none?”

Whoever put the account of Job together took actual events and expressed them in poetic form because of poetry’s power and economy of language. Poetry sometimes has a (false) reputation of being somewhat out of touch with reality. But the question in this passage is most assuredly a real one, and it most certainly arises from a heart that has seen hope disappear. This book is so honest that Job isn’t asking this question rhetorically. No, he’s really wondering: what’s the point to the shining of the sun and the beating of the heart when he’d rather be dead? This book is for everyone – everyone – who asks if there is a reason to go on.