Job 7:1-21 No Hope
Job is tormented day and night. He sees no end to his suffering and no hope beyond it. He feels that he has even become a burden to God.
I’m wondering how long this illness has lasted for Job. He says “I am allotted months of emptiness” (verse 3a). We know he has suffered for longer than a week because that is how long his friends have been watching him. They had to have time to learn of his condition and to travel to where he is too. In his condition days would certainly seem like weeks.
The first thing I would like to say is to Job; there IS more to life than just what is here on earth! There is an eternity beyond this flesh. He is on the path to spending it in Heaven with God. With NO MORE PAIN.
What breaks my heart is how he sees nothing on the other side of this, even if the other side is the grave. I can’t say I blame him for loathing his life but there IS more than just your illness. Some illnesses demand your focus and seriously limit your life but they are not all there is to you. Job sees nothing but his illness. And his friends don’t either. His condition was so severe that it consumed every ounce of his attention and so visible that none saw past it.
If only he could have seen himself as God saw him; His gold standard. If he knew why this was happening to him, would he have weathered it better? At least Paul got an answer as to ‘why’ he had to continue suffering with his ‘thorn in the flesh’. It was so God’s strength would shine through instead of Paul’s. Job sees himself as God’s “mark” and a “burden” to Him. He doesn’t know how his continued faithfulness is actually the testimony God is showcasing.
I have heard stories of patients who were suffering with debilitating illness actually inspire those around them. God uses their weaknesses, and their trust in Him, to draw others to Himself. The reason they can do this is because they see hope beyond the grave. Job doesn’t. He even says that God would “seek me, but I shall not be” (verse 21b). I wonder if God will correct this faulty assumption by the end of Job’s story.
I wonder if sleep deprivation is also feeding into Job’s despair. He can find no rest in sleep. Not only can he not get comfortable but he has nightmares when he does sleep. He has cannot replenish his stores without sleep. He has no reserves left to draw from.
Does his wife try and ease his suffering at night? Does she apply salves to his wounds? Or is he alone in his suffering? His friends watch on but they do nothing to give him relief. Instead of offering him comfort they confront him instead. How many times did Job do this himself with people he counseled? Assume that their suffering was at the hands of their own sin? Would he ever do so again?
Father God, THANK YOU that I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is MORE to life that just this existence on earth! THANK YOU for the eternity You have promised to me. As Your child I will be spending it with You. That alone is worth ANYTHING I have to walk through in this lifetime!
THANK YOU also that You have not asked me to walk through the infirmity that Job did. I have issues I have had to endure and some that have lasted a lifetime, but You have kept me from serious physical distress. And You have upheld me during prolonged emotional distress. THANK YOU for ALWAYS being with me, no matter what.
