Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God through which the Holy Spirit touches our hearts this morning are the words spoke by Job recorded in Job 7:1-7
“Does not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired man? Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages, so I have been alloted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. When I lie down I think, ’How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss till dawn. My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering.”
“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to and end without hope. Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again.” (NIV) – This is the word of our Lord.
Dear friends who find comfort in Christ,
The name Job may be familiar to people, even if they weren’t brought up in church. His name has become proverbial for patience in suffering. We have the expression: “So-and-so is as patient as Job.” Yet if you read the book of Job, you soon realize that he was no superman. Suffering did not bounce off of him, like bullets bouncing off the man of steal. Yes, Job was a man of faith and we see much in his patience to imitate. But Job was also a sinful human being. He dealt with the same inner struggles that we do and at times his words flow from his sinful nature so that he challenges why God would do this to him.
Today we want to see how we are like Job and how by God’s mercy we can deal with suffering. So the theme today is: How to Deal with Suffering. But before we can see where the real answer is, we first of all need to see where it isn’t.
1) We don’t have the strength
The real answer is not found in ourselves. That thought goes contrary to worldly wisdom. So much of our culture from TV’s Oprah Winfrey to self-help books like Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking ask you to find the inner strength within yourself. They may talk about seeking help from others, but the reason to do that, they say, is so that others can help you visualize or realize the inner strength you already have.
Even a lot of our common expressions point us to our own strength. Consider expressions like: “Keep a stiff upper lip.” “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps.” “Just grin and bear it.” or “Just grit your teeth and bear it.” Although we might use these phrase to tell someone that complaining about suffering isn’t helpful, these phrases aren’t helpful advise either. They point us to the wrong place.
Job knew that he had no inner strength left to grit his teeth and bear it. Did you feel the helplessness in his words as the text was read? “My eyes will never see happiness again.”
What had brought Job to this point of helplessness and hopelessness? At first Job had been richly blessed by the Lord. He was blessed with great wealth and with a loving family. But the Lord took that all away in one day. Job’s wealth of oxen and donkeys, sheep and camels were destroyed or stolen. All his children were killed that same day when a wind collapsed the house they were in. Did Job rely on his inner strength to get him through this? Not at all! He said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:20).
But things went from bad to worse. Job lost his health. His body was covered with painful sores. Even his wife told him, “Curse God, and die.” But once again Job did not focus on his own strength. He replied, “Should we accept good from God and not trouble?” (Job 2:9, 10)
As Job sits in misery, three friends come to comfort him. At first they are so struck by Job’s suffering they don’t know what to say. When they finally do speak, they try to convince Job that this must be happening to him because of some horrendous sin he had done. Their words only tortured Job more.
Job expresses his pain with very vivid words. If we think about them, we can almost imagine these sentences as snapshots of Job’s suffering. And when we look more closely at these picture, we can see ourselves in some of them too. For we, too, have times of suffering. We, too, need to know how to deal with it.
The first snapshot is in the words: “Does not man have hard service on earth?” The word Job uses for hard service also is used for military service. Does your life sometimes feel like you’re in boot camp? Someone else is pulling the strings and driving you hard. You have no say and any mistake is pushed down your throat. You don’t know whether you will make it or not. That’s how Job felt.
The next snapshot is a picture of a hired hand and slave. “Are not his day like those of a hired man? Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages, so I have been allotted months of futility.” Does life seem to you to be nothing but the drudgery of slavery? You slave away at your job for a meager paycheck. You look for some comfort in the weekend coming up. But it all seems so meaningless, so futile, like trying to chase the wind or empty the ocean. That’s how Job felt.
The next snapshot is a picture of restlessness: “Nights of misery have been assigned to me. When I lie down I think, ’How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss till dawn.” Do you ever feel that there is no escape from your suffering. You look forward to bed for rest. But you can’t sleep. The night drags on. You wish it were morning. But morning gives no comfort and you wish it were night again. That’s how Job felt.
The next snapshot shows physical suffering. “My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering.” Who of us doesn’t struggle with physical pain and suffering at one time or another? And when our body suffers it so easily wears us down mentally and emotionally that we can hurt both inside and out. So did Job.
And finally we come to that picture of hopelessness. “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. . . my eyes will never see happiness again.”
Do you see yourself in any of these snapshots of suffering? At one time or another we do suffer. How will we deal with it? The solution isn’t in ourselves. We don’t have the strength.
2) Rely on God’s mercy found only in Jesus.
Rather the solution is found in someone else. The solution is found in Jesus. The answer to the question: “How to deal with suffering” is to rely on God’s mercy found only in Jesus.
We hear Job calling out for God. “Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath.” He asks for God’s help not because he thinks that he deserves that help. He relies on God’s mercy. He relies on God’s love that will have pity on his great agony.
What hope does Job have that God will be merciful to him? Job’s hope rests on Jesus alone. When Job takes his eyes off of Jesus, he says things that challenge God’s way in dealing with him. But when Job keeps his eyes on Jesus, he expresses wonderful confidence and hope even in the greatest suffering.
The basis for this confidence and hope in God’s mercy is most clearly expressed later on when Job says in chapter 19 “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27 NIV)
Jesus is the reason why Job relies on God’s mercy. For Job knows that the coming Savior is his Redeemer. What does that mean? Job knew that he was a slave to sin. He could not escape. But the Lord would send the Redeemer to pay the ransom price to set him free. Because of the Redeemer would live in victory, so also Job would live with him. His own body would be raised form the dead, and he would see God with his own eyes.
That’s the key for you and me as well. Jesus is your Redeemer. Suffering reminds us of how our earthly life is chained to sin and its evil results. Suffering can shackle our conscience and rub it raw with guilt. And if we fail to look to Jesus, suffering leaves us angry, bitter, helpless, and in despair
But Jesus is your Redeemer. He paid the ransom price to set you free from the chains of sins and the shackles of guilt. He paid the full price. For he paid the price of his holy, precious blood, which is the blood of God, the Son of the Father, poured out for you. That blood is of more value than all the riches of the world. For only the blood of Jesus can save you from sin and hell. Only his blood can ransom you. What a blessing to receive his blood when you come to the Lord’s Supper, so that you know that it is your sins that Jesus has paid for. He has paid the ransom price for you.
And also remember that Jesus is your Redeemer who lives. In the middle of suffering, we can begin to wonder and question God, like Job did. We wonder, “Does God really love me?” Then remember that Jesus lives. He rose from the dead. See the marks of the nails showing the depth of his love. Hear his words that say, “Peace to you. Your sins are forgiven.” Touch his living body. Because God raised Jesus from the dead, he accepted Jesus’ blood as the ransom payment for you. Because Jesus lives, you who trust in him will live with him. You will live with him in glory free from all pain and suffering.
Those we do not trust in Jesus, have no real hope. The suffering of this life is only a small taste of the suffering to come in the eternity of hell. But with Jesus, our future glory far out weighs all present suffering. (Romans 8:18)
When the Lord finally spoke to Job, he didn’t explain to Job why this suffering happened. He simply reminded Job of his wisdom and power, which all creation displays. As you look at Jesus, your Redeemer, see God’s wisdom and power. Through faith in Jesus you know that God’s wisdom and power are working all things, even suffering, for our good, even if we can not understand (Romans 8:28). And when we begin to wonder whether God’s wisdom and power is really working for us, then we need to look at Jesus all the more. For since God did not spare his own Son, how will he not along with him graciously give us all things (Romans 8:32)?
How are we to deal with suffering? Like Job, rely on God’s mercy found only in Jesus. No matter what, keep looking at Jesus, your Redeemer. Amen.
