Lord, Where Are You? Series

Job 29: 1 – 25

Lord, Where Are You?

1 Job further continued his discourse, and said: 2 “Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; 3 When His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness; 4 Just as I was in the days of my prime, when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent; 5 When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were around me; 6 When my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me! 7 “When I went out to the gate by the city, when I took my seat in the open square, 8 the young men saw me and hid, and the aged arose and stood; 9 The princes refrained from talking, and put their hand on their mouth; 10 The voice of nobles was hushed, and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. 11 When the ear heard, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw, then it approved me; 12 because I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless and the one who had no helper. 13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. 15 I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know. 17 I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth. 18 “Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand. 19 My root is spread out to the waters, and the dew lies all night on my branch. 20 My glory is fresh within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand.’ 21 “Men listened to me and waited, and kept silence for my counsel. 22 After my words they did not speak again, and my speech settled on them as dew. 23 They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain. 24 If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, and the light of my countenance they did not cast down. 25 I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, as one who comforts mourners.

Have you ever asked, "God where are you?" I’ve been there and I know that Job has also as we see described here in this chapter. I do not know about you but there are times when we feel that God has abandoned us. When we were first saved we were on cloud nine. The Lord blew our minds as we saw situations after situations in which He did something spectacular for and through us. Now, it seems like He Isn’t around. We turn our thoughts inward to discover if we have done some sin that has caused Him to ignore us.

Can you glean from what we have just read that Job is at this place? It isn’t a good place to linger. I want to first start out by looking at someone who was favored by Almighty God because of his love for Him. Yet we find that even such a man whom it seems God had paid special attention to went through the same agony of feeling that God had abandoned him. Turn with me to Psalm 13.

1 How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; 4 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 5 But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. 6 I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Our Precious Holy Spirit brings out three things that David displays as responses that we make in times like this. We first find David confused as he questions God in verses 1 and 2. Being in extreme turmoil David calls out to our Holy Father in verses 3 and 4 for answers. Then in verses 5 and 6 he concludes in a step of faith.

Four times David asks ‘How long?’It somehow feels like he is wailing. Have you ever experienced this intense anguish? These four cries of ‘how long’ put the point of God’s delay in four different categories. The first cry of ‘How long?” deals with God’s covenant Name. He asks, ‘How long Yahweh? Will You forget me forever?’ It seems as though God has forgotten me. It seems as though whatever trouble I’m in God not only isn’t answering my prayers but He Is also totally ignoring me. Have you ever felt this way?