Born To Trouble.

Sermon Title: Born to trouble.

Scripture Text: Job 1:1, 2:1-10

ILLUSTRATION:

Dietrich Bonhoeffer died in a German concentration camp right before it was liberated.

This is what he wrote:

In me there is darkness, but with you there is light; I am lonely, but you do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help; I am restless, but with You there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience; I do not understand Your ways, But You know the way for me.” “Lord Jesus Christ, You were poor and in distress, a captive and forsaken as I am. You know all man’s troubles; You abide with me when all men fail me; You remember and seek me; It is Your will that I should know You and turn to You. Lord, I hear Your call and follow; Help me.

We can see that Job’s story is alive and still living among us even today. So let’s take a look at the man Job from the oldest book in the Bible.

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We can see right off how God feels about Job as our Scripture opens with a description of Job:

Job 1:10 NLT

1 There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.

At a meeting in Heaven God doesn’t hesitate to bring Satan's attention to Job. If God did that there was a reason, don't you think? Satan tells God what he thinks about Job:

Job 2:1-10 NLT

2 One day the members of the heavenly court  came again to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan came with them. 2 “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”

3 Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.” (*It seem God and Satan has had conversations about Job before)

4 Satan replied to the Lord, “Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life. 5 But reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

6 “All right, do with him as you please,” the Lord said to Satan. “But spare his life.” 7 So Satan left the Lord’s presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot.

8 Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. 9 His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.”

10 But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

Looking at Scripture and our text today we know we can feel forsaken or abandoned to the core of our being. But feeling forsaken or abandoned isn’t the same as “being” forsaken or abandoned.

Jesus took words from Psalms 22 when he said in:

Matthew 27:46 NLT

46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

-Some people think that God Almighty, creator of the universe, the One that gave His only begotten son for us, would turn his back on Jesus when he felt, in his human form destroyed completely.

---The God that I know and serve doesn't abandoned or forsaken anyone. He has promised over and over in His Word that he wouldn't do that. In fact God can’t abandoned us. He can’t forsake us. It’s impossible for him to do it. It would go against His nature as God.

Deuteronomy 31: 8

8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

---Let’s remember because we feel abandoned doesn’t mean that we are. Job was never abandoned. God was always there but Job didn’t think or feel like it.

Cancer, unemployment, painful anniversaries and sudden, tragic bereavement have been among the human experiences forever.

--Perhaps you or someone you know is currently walking through a dark time. If so, it may feel quite natural to ask the heartfelt, agonizing question: “Where on earth is God in all this?” There's a lot I don't know but I do know for sure He is right here beside me, you, us all the time.

I want to leave you with three things today:

(1) Deuteronomy 29:29

29 “The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.