Our Limitations Lead to God’s Opportunities (Job 30:1-31)
When Job reached the end of his rope only then was he ready to realize God’s opportunities.
"But now I am mocked by those who are younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs." (Job 30:1)
1. Job felt extremely humiliated as he had lost suffered extreme loss. Few people tend to see God’s opportunities in their extreme suffering, at least at first. Now Job faced additional humiliation at the hands of young upstarts who poured on insult to injury.
2. At this point, Job had lost his family, possessions, health, position and good reputation. It seemed to everyone, including Job, that he was being punished by God for a terrible unconfessed sin. Job was not even respected for bravely suffering through his adversity.
3. However, God was teaching Job that He has the right to do whatever He wants to do at anytime, anywhere and with anything, since He is the sovereign Lord of the universe. Let us let go of all of our assumption about what we deserve and let God be the Lord of all aspects of our lives.
4. Young people too often mock that which they do not understand. In this case, several young upstarts were taking advantage of an elderly person, as so often happens, because they saw weakness, vulnerability and a chance to take advantage of someone who had fallen out of public favor. Remember, that God supports those who are limited in their ability to defend themselves. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil as vengeance is mine says the Lord and I will repay. He supports the weak, the fatherless and the vulnerable.
5. Strong people should realize that their abilities, powers and advantages can easily be taken away by God. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling. Muhammed Ali was a one time a strong, spry and prideful heavy weight champion of the world who like to shout, "I am the greatest!" Today, he is a shell of his former self, barely able to utter an intelligent phrase. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you at the proper time.
6. Job gives us a requiem of regret, forgetting all the good things He had in His relationship with God. Too often people bemoan what they do not have forgetting all the good things they have in Jesus Christ. Job lamented, "They mock me... I have become a by-word among them. they detest me and keep their distance." (Job 30:1, 9-10)Do not let peoples’ mockings, gossipping or scorning to effect your relationship with God. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:21) Overpower, overlook and overcome with the mighty power of His word, His Spirit and His loving graceful will in your life.
7. Job complained that he had lost all of his strength. He writes, "For God has cut the chords of my tent. He has humbled me, so that they have thrown off all restraint." (Job 30:11) Another translation reads, "Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me they throw off restraint in my presence." When a man in Job’s day felt he had lost his bow, he had no capacity to hunt or conduct warfare. He felt powerless. Job felt so sorry for himself that he felt he had no power to defend himself. Remember, the Lord is our shield, defender and deliverer in times of trouble. He will not fail us or forsake us until all the work He intends for you is accomplished.
8. Job felt he had lost all sense of personal dignity, respect and self-esteem. He wrote, "Terrors overwhelm me; my dignity is driven away as by the wind, my safety vanishes like a cloud. and now my life ebbs away, days of suffering grip me." (Job 30:15,16) God gives us our sense of dignity, respect and a healthy self-esteem. God has not given us the spirit of fear or indignity, but of power, love and a health sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7)
9. Job felt that terrors overwhelmed him to a point of despair. He wrote, "Terrors overwhelm me.. My life ebbs away... I am reduced to dust and ashes... The churning inside me never stops.. My harp is turned to mourning, and my flute to the sound of wailing." (Job 30:15,16, 19,27, 31) Like David Job needed to say, "I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all of my fears." (Psa 34:1) We all need to recite Psa 46:1,2 where David cries out, "The Lord is my refuge and strength a very present help in the time of trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." (Psa 46:1,2) We can sing, trust and rejoice in the deliverance, determination and uplifting that the Lord gives those who look to Him in times of trouble. Like the song, "He’s our rock, He’s our fortress, He’s our deliverer, the one whom we trust. Praise the name of Jesus."
10. Job learned that God could do all things and no purpose of His could be thwarted. (Job 42:1,2 )
Illustration: Like Job, Charles Colson, the former aide to President Nixon, during the watergate hearings testifies, "Sure, Watergate caused my world to crash around me and set me to prison. I lost many of the mainstays of my existence - the awards, the six-figure income and lifestyle to match, arguing cases in the highest courts, a position of power at the right hand of the President of the United States. But only when I lost them did I find a far greater gain: knowing Christ... I wouldn’t trade the toughest day of the last few years - which includes those in prison - for the best day of the forty years before... What I couldn’t find in my quest for power and success - that is, true security and meaning - I discovered in prison where all worldly props had been stripped away." (Who Speaks for God? Crossway Books, 1985, pp. 47, 181)
Illustration: The Chinese combine two characters for the word crisis. One character means "danger" and the other "opportunity". These two possibilities are inherent in every crisis. A crisis is a crossroads and the outcome is usually determined by which path is taken.
Illustration: One doctor told me that when a patient is described as critical it means they can move either toward life or death in an instant. Just so, the crises of life present not only danger but also opportunities. Let your extremity open new doors for God’s opportunities. He who began a good work in you is able to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6)
Prayer: Help me, Lord, to be a person who builds a house on a solid rock, so when the storms beat on me, I will stand firm and use it as an opportunity for your greater glory, will and purpose!
