Job Part 2 - Devotional

June 14th, 2020

Devotional

“Job - Part 2” -

      Job 3: 1-10, 4: 1-9, 7: 11-21

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Cursed” - Job 3:1

Satan’s goal in testing Job was to prove that he would not remain faithful (ie curse God) if all of his blessings were taken away. In chapter 2 of Job, Job’s wife told him to just give up and curse God. But Job would not. 

Instead, after sitting for several days in the silence of grief he opened his mouth and cursed his own life. His curse is directed at the day of his own birth. 

As we will find out later this week, that made Job’s friends uncomfortable so they would open up their mouths in return, trying to let Job know how this situation had to be his fault in their minds.

Sometimes we are uncomfortable with people when they are in grief. When someone is crying we automatically want to wipe their tears away. When someone has a hard question, we want to give them an immediate answer. And someone cries out in pain, like Job is, we want to rush to explain why things are not as they perceive them. But this was Job’s experience. No one else could understand it. No one else would experience it exactly the way that he had. 

  How do you cry out to God in times of deep suffering?

Prayer: God, we thank you that while we suffer in this world, that you are right there beside us. We thank you, that while others may not understand what we are going through, that you do. Be with us in our times of joy and in our times of grief, we pray. Amen.

Tuesday: “Let” - Job 3: 2-10

Job opens his mouth in what essentially is a pray -  a talk with God. Only it wasn’t in a form that others would recognize as such. He has a series of statements beginning with the word “let” that laid out his heartache. He talks about the darknesses that he wishes on the day he was born. 

Job is in such a dark place in his life that this is the only way he could think of to express his anguish. He had been sitting with in in silence for days, mulling it over. Turning over each piece and wondering how it could be. And this is his response. This is the cry of his heart.

Often we tell people that there is no right or wrong way to pray. Yet, when people just lay it all out before God we bulk, as if the God of the world cannot handle our pain. But God knows our pain, just as he knew Jobs. God wants us to honestly come before him, bringing whatever we are thinking and feeling even if others do not understand it. 

What makes you bare your heart before God?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that while we tell people that they can say anything to you, we sometimes do not mean it. We prefer the words of praise and concern for others over the deep cries of grief for what people are carrying. Let us not stand in the way of people coming before you with their whole selves. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Answered” - Job 4: 1-6

  Up until this point Job’s friends have been silent, but all of a sudden they take Job’s words as an affront to God that must be answered for, so they start to refute some of what Job had been expressing. 

Eliphaz tries to start out gently with words that try to point out a different interpretation to Job. He starts by pointing out Job’s righteousness, but then there are large “buts”. But you are impatient in your suffering now. But you are dismayed. Now where is your hope?

There are times and places to have deep theological conversations - this was probably not one of them. But once Eliphaz had opened his mouth he could not be stopped. If you were experiencing what Job is going through are these the words that you would want to have heard? Would they have been helpful? Probably not. But sometimes even those who are to be the comforters are blind during the times of another’s deep grief. 

What are some ways that we can support someone who is grieving?

Prayer: God, we confess that sometimes we say and do the wrong things when faced with another’s grief. Sometimes our words seem like a rush to fix or a rush to judge. Forgive us, O Lord. Let us look to you to be our wisdom when we are walking with people through the journey of life and of death. Amen. 

Thursday: “Innocent” -Job 4: 7-9

  By now all niceties that marked the start of Eliphaz’s speech to Job are gone. Sure you know Job that it isn’t the innocent that suffer like you do. This trouble has to be the harvest of your iniquity. You have made God angry. 

This was a common belief in the times of the Hebrew Scriptures - the good will be reward and the evil will perish. Only the story of Job reminds us that nothing is ever quite that clean and simple. Instead, all have heartache. And we need to figure out how to talk about that. 

For Job’s friends, they were using their beliefs about God as a shield to defend themselves from his pain instead of simply listening to him. They rushed so fast past what Job was experiencing, thinking, and feeling. 

Sometimes we move too quickly to what to say, when really the best gift that we can offer is to listen. To pray. To offer a cooked meal and shoulder to cry on. 

  What are some of things that we say to folks who are grieving?

Prayer: Lord, when we open our mouths may we be your messengers. May we not say our opinions or what defends us from another person’s pain. Instead, may we reflect your light and your love in the darkness. Amen. 

Friday: “Not Restrain” - Job 7: 11-21

  Now after Job has listened to his friends this is his response - you all don’t get it so I am going to turn to God in desperate hope that he will understand. 

There are going to be times in our lives when the people around us do not get it or understand. I was listening to a talk recently that made the point that we can never really say to someone that we’ve been there, even if we have gone through something very similar, because our experience will never be exactly the same as theirs. 

But we trust and believe that God does understand and that the God who created us and knows us is big enough to even handle our pain. So we can bring it all before God, as Job does, no matter what. 

Where do you turn when you feel misunderstood?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being the one we can turn to in all situations, at all times. Let us lean into your mercy and grace, even when we have groans that are too deep for words. Receive the prayers of our heart, we pray. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Job - Part 3” - Job 14: 7-15, 19: 23-27