Having it out with God
Then Job replied:
2 ‘Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand[a] is heavy in spite of[b] my groaning.
3 If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!
4 I would state my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would find out what he would answer me,
and consider what he would say to me.
6 Would he vigorously oppose me with great power?
No, he would not press charges against me.
7 There the upright can establish their innocence before him,
and there I would be delivered for ever from my judge.
8 ‘But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
38 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 ‘Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 ‘Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone –
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
34 ‘Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, “Here we are”?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[a]
or gives the cockerel understanding?[b]
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
39 ‘Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
I had been a pastor for about 3 months. Leanne and I with three kids in tow had been sent to this totally unknown place 5,000km’s away from here. We were still trying to figure out so many things living a totally new culture (NZ).
I was associate pastor to the younger pastor who had been in this community for 4 years. We were trying to figure each other out. It was not going well.
I was unclear on how he went about things. Frustration grew. The future looked short-term as best.
One day, we had it out. I told him I was not convinced about his way of doing things and that I was angry and frustrated. He gave back. He was not convinced about how I was going about things and he was frustrated too!
It was the best thing that could have happened. From that moment of honest complaint and expression of how we were really feeling, we clicked into gear and spent four exhilarating ministry years together. We are the very best of friends still.
This is what happened with Job and God. They “have it out”. It is an extended conversation that is raw, honest and unfettered. We get to listen in and ponder our own complaints of God’s way of doing things and the frustration, fear and doubt we experience – particularly in our suffering.
You might be in that kind of conversation at the moment, given what is happening to the world or to you or someone you love.
Short story is that Job is tested beyond all reasonable human limits with terrible suffering – loss of family, loss of loved people, derision by some people, physical disease, loss of wealth and all ability to succeed…. And all under the watchful eye of the Lord.
After searching for answers from close friends and questioning the Lord’s character and ability to manage life and the world, we get to this….
Job 23
‘Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.
3 If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!
4 I would state my case before him…
8 ‘… if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
“God, I can’t find you. I can’t hear you or see your plans clearly. I can’t understand this suffering. Why don’t you give me that chance – to state my case and hear you clearly so I can understand it all…”.
Sound familiar?
But, Job asks, “What if I did have my day in court with the Lord?
6 Would he oppose me with great power?
Surely he would not press charges against me.
No,
10 …. he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I shall come out of this like gold.
But then,
13 ‘But he (The Lord) stands alone, and who can oppose him?
He seems to have so many plans in store that make me scared of him!
Is this you now, friend?16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.
Where do we turn? What do we do? What do we say when we are tested like this?
Job tells us: Complain
If Job were here, he would make say “Make your complaint to God”.
We are bitter, Lord. Life seems heavy. I seem heavy. I never seem good enough.
I struggle to find your peace and love anywhere. I search for belonging, hope to live in, joy to experience in all kinds of people and places, but they never really deliver me from my deeper questions and groaning.
Are you for me, Lord? Are you still with me? Are you still involved in your world?
You know me. You know us, Lord. But why can’t you show us more and do more?
God responds …
Job 38
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 ‘Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
Oh boy. Look out!
4 ‘Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid the world’s cornerstone –
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 ‘Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
11 when I said, “This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt”?
12 ‘Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place?
16 ‘Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
Answer? No, I haven’t. No, I don’t and can’t. I can’t sustain my own life even for a second, let alone the sky and sea and seasons and creatures and my people….
And then comes the moment. When the complaint is righty made and when the Lord turns out to be a person of truthful challenge, not just some cosmic butler here to only fulfill yours and our every wish to be happy…..
This what you do.
Job 42
‘I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, “Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?”
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 ‘You said, “Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.”
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.’
Real complaint to God, brings real clarity from God.
Now Job sees. He sees his own limit, weakness, lack of power and certainty and he sees God’s unlimited goodness, power and commitment to the world. Job sees God as Giver: everything the Lord lists here is gift – gift for life, gift for human life, gift for Job.
In Job’s suffering the sun rises, the clouds form the rain comes the stars shine the wind moves and life is sustained for Job.
Nothing has changed when it comes to the gracious sustaining gifting of God ,,, Paul says;
Romans 12:3
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you
What are you doing with the trouble you face? What are you doing with the trouble you feel? What are you doing with the trouble in this troubled world that seems to be heaping up on us all? Where is faith in this giving God; this man for others,; Jesus; his giving, his sacrificing, his calling, his gifting and guiding by the Spirit?
Here’s God’s direction for you in your suffering from a man who knows suffering (Job) and a Saviour who suffered it all for you (Jesus)…..
Complain.
Listen
Repent and be restored
Complain to Jesus. He knows the pain and the triumph through it.
Listen to Jesus. Our complaint is turned to praise. Our doubt to trust; our suffering to joy again. Paul puts it well …
Romans 11:33-35
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[i] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counsellor?’[j]
35 ‘Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?’[k]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
Complain.
Listen
Repent and be restored.
Why? Because that is where the ‘gold ‘ is’.
The gold? To be a person for others. To be a person of prayer for others.
For instance, Philippians 2 says: Have the same attitude that Jesus had.
Even though he was God, he didn’t hang on to his glory, but humbled himself – the Greek word means “emptied” himself and became a human being so that he could suffer and die in our place. Following Jesus involves having an attitude that we find hard to have by nature – to turn the other cheek, go the extra distance, do things for others even if it’s not ‘fair’ for you, to forgive people – always, and to love and serve people whether we think they deserve it or not.
So we come back to Jesus’ question: “Are you also going to leave?” We’ll come back to Peter’ reply in a minute.
We love this verse from the Psalms, but it can easily become nothing but words if we don’t allow the Word to do what it says it does:
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul writes:
And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
So we come back to our Hebrew texts, which don’t need any further commentary from me. Listen to them – read them – carefully! The Holy Spirit wants you to hear them clearly today:
Hebrews 2:1 – We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
And the second verse Is Hebrews 3:1 – Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus . . .
And I also want to highlight Paul’s words to Timothy in his first letter – ask the Spirit to speak to you through these words:
But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
So we come back to the question that Jesus asked his first twelve disciples, and now asks each one of us: “Are you also going to leave?”
Can you answer that question confidently and boldly today? If you can, please give Jesus your answer now, in Peter’s words.
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Job 42:10ff
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver[a] and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life …..
16 ….Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.
Complain.
Listen
Repent and be restored.
Job finally learnt to pray!
10 “After (all of this) Job prayed for his friends….”
Complain.
Listen
Repent and be restored.
Job suffered and he complained to the Lord, listened to the Lord and acknowledged the Lord’s authority and goodness in it all and was restored by Lord so he could truly be a man for others.
Same for you.
Amen.
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