So Satan left the Lord’s presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils
from head to foot. Job scraped his skin
with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. His
wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” 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. Job
2:7-10 (NLT)
We’re
learning lessons this week about suffering from a champion sufferer, Job.
Yesterday
we learned (in the poor example of Job’s friends) that just because there’s a
break in the conversation, that doesn’t mean it’s time to open your mouth and
insert your foot. Imagining you speak
for God is worse than foolish – it is damaging to those who are waiting for any
word of hope or relief. We learned – don’t
speak for God.
LESSON #2 - DON'T SPEAK BEFORE GOD
Mrs. Job took one look at
her formerly powerful, now pitiful husband, and told him to forget everything
he ever believed about God and just end it all…die…fall on the sword! Job looked up from his pain and growled, You
talk like a foolish woman!
(He had to be in a lot of
pain…no husband in his right mind talks like that to his wife if he values his
life; unless it’s by cell phone).
Job’s wife wasn’t just being
sarcastic with her advice; she probably could not stand to see her man
suffering. He had every imaginable kind
of pain – physical, emotional, relational, financial and family. He’d lost everything in his life except the
boils.
With so much of mankind’s
humanitarian efforts over the centuries aimed at alleviating pain and
suffering, you have to know we take that seriously; and so did Job’s wife.
She took it seriously; but
she took it beyond her understanding.
So often we are tempted to
offer quick solutions, based on so-called wisdom. It’s fine to offer solutions, but if it is to
be a wise solution, it must be based on what God says. The prophet Zechariah warned, "Be still
before the Lord, all mankind..."[1]
God has the
last word (no matter what), and we are wise to hear it BEFORE we make our plans
firm, or our speeches heard. David had a
wonderful intention to build the Lord a temple.
He only wanted to honor the God who had been so faithful to him. The only problem was it was not God's plan
for David to build that temple. Don't
speak for God, or before God speaks.
When
you’re up against it, patience is God’s way. Often it’s not the easiest way, but we are
called to be His, to trust Him in the worst of times, as well as when the sun
is shining.
Remember that when Satan whispers “suicide” in
your ear. It won’t sound foreboding like
the sound of SUICIDE; it will sound much friendlier, dignified, or
even trendy. There will be plenty of
platitudes to support putting an end to the pain.
·
God
really wouldn’t want you to suffer like this, would he?
·
You don’t have to suffer;
this makes no sense – you deserve better.
Some pain is
inexplicable, unimaginable and seems so unendurable.
But at the end
of the day life is worth even that; and that is how precious YOUR life is to
your Heavenly Father. He should know; He
suffered the cross FOR your life.
For You, Today…
If you’re up
against it – so much pain you don’t think you can hold on.
Call a friend,
your pastor, a neighbor; they won’t have all the words but they don’t need
words; they simply need to be able to sit with you through the pain.
My friend in
pain, sit still and wait for God to speak.
No comments:
Post a Comment