Strength to Strength

These past couple of weeks, we have been going through the book of Job. As a recap, lets go back to where the story begins (in chapters 1 & 2). As the book opens, we see a dialect between Satan and the Lord; where the Lord is basically bragging on His servant, Job.

 Job 1: 8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

In the beginning of this chapter, Satan claims that Job only praises the Lord because of his extreme wealth and prosperity. He is convinced that Job’s “blamelessness” (if that is a word) is conditional- there are “strings attached.”

Job 1:9-11 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.  But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

If we are honest, how many times have we had these same thoughts? I definitely think this way sometimes. Full disclosure- a different example, but applicable to my own life- I sometimes look at friends who are married, engage, or “in love,” and I catch myself thinking: “ their life must be so much easier than mine.” I sometimes listen to Satan’s lies and tell myself, “If God had given me a partner who loved, comforted, and made me feel special, then all these things I deal with wouldn't seem so bad.”

You may have a different struggle than I do; you may think life would be easier if I had his or her job… his or her family… his or her looks…. His or her life. This is basically the same argument Satan gave God. He said- Job has it all- of course it is easy for him to praise you!

Satan knows, that many times, we praise the Lord because of what he has done- instead of who He is. Some of us have a conditional relationship with God- when things go our way we are thankful and full of praise. But during the rocky times, when God seems distant, we might curse His name- maybe not with our words, but through our actions.

Even after Satan had made this assumption, the Lord was still confident in Job’s character. God tells Satan to do whatever he wishes, but not to physically lay a finger on Job.

Job 1:12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

In the next few verses, we see Job’s world fall apart. He is stripped of his riches and status, his possessions are destroyed, and his children are killed. After Job’s life had crumbled, he falls to his face and worships the Lord.

Job 1:20-22 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Is this our response when we face discomfort in our own life? How do we usually react when something terrible occurs? What is the first thing we do (our natural reaction) or who is the first person we call? Do we call on the Lord or do we call on this world?

Again, if I am honest, my natural reaction is not to call upon the Lord. I do not instantly think about praising the Lord when something bad happens. Usually my reaction is to ignore the situation, become angry at someone, or grow bitter with God. I then seek to find someone who will justify my feelings and agree with my theories- but this is not what Job did. Job did not seek the approval of his friends, but rather he sought God’s favor.

As we continue on with the story, Satan, is frustrated by Job’s commitment to God and so Satan claims that Job is still hopeful because he is healthy and has not been physically harmed. So the Lord allows Satan to put Job in physical pain.

Moving into Chapter two, Job has lost everything and he is now in excruciating pain. He is covered in boils and diseases, his friends do not even recognize him. At this point, his wife (who has also lost everything) tells him to just curse the Lord and die! But Job is still faithful to God in his response:

Job 2:9-10 His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

Job understood that God was in control and that all things happened for a reason. Although he did not understand why these things were happening, he trusted God’s plan.

Proverbs 19:21 Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand.

The story of Job has a pretty short beginning and a pretty quick end; however, as we read through the bulk of the story, we will see all the drama in between. There is basically a ping pong game going back and forth between Job and his “friends.”

As I was preparing to teach this week, I asked: “Geez, why is this middle part so long? Why did I have to get stuck with all this drama?” I realized that life usually works this way. When trials hit, they come on quick. As we walk through these difficult times it can feel like eternity before things get better. Just like the book of Job- this tribulation came quick, the drama seemed to last a lifetime, and then compared to all this “middle madness,” the end seems brief. The mean time is always during the “meantime.”

As we dive into the bulk of the story, the main characters: Job and 3 of his friends, who are really his accusers, go into three rounds of debates. In our class last week, we briefly covered the first round and today we will look at round 2, starting in Job Chapter 15. Let’s turn to chapter 15 and see how this round begins.

Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends, starts this round on the offense- accusing Job of sinfulness.

Job 15: 5-6 Your sin prompts your mouth; you adopt the tongue of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you.

Job 15: 9-10 What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have? The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father.

Eliphaz, as well as Job’s other friends (Zohar, & Bildad), claim that Job’s words are being prompted by his sin. They believe his claim for innocence has further condemned him and that Job’s hidden sins- are evident due to his current situation. They are confident that only sinners experience this level of suffering- if Job had remained righteous then he would still be living in prosperity.

Not only do his friends claim this theory to be true, but in vs. 10, Eliphaz states that wiser men before them had also believed this to be true. Therefore they urge Job to repent and get off his high horse.

When these men originally came to comfort Job back in Chapter 3, they may have started in a good place, but as they saw Job’s life continue to spiral downward, they wanted to believe the pain was brought on by Job’s wrong doings. In theory- they may have been convincing themselves that this was the case, because, if they were wrong and indeed suffering could happen to godly people, then they might also be at risk!

QUESTION: Have you ever been guilty of imposing your own interpretation, instead of truly seeking to comfort/help a person in pain? *What this world needs around us is not our opinions- but rather the word of God*

            -Often times we want to blame someone or something, we want to provide a solution in order to get rid of the problem. I have been guilty of this in my own life, especially when I am tired or frustrated. I forget how patient the Lord has been with me, I forget the love that he shows me (even when I am in the wrong) and all I want is to focus on me. So I fail to show someone else Christ’s love and comfort.

I know God has probably said these words to me: “Wow Laura, think of all the times you have complained or come to me with tears and requests for comfort. No matter how many times you complain and no matter how often you cry out in pain, I will never ever stop loving you! If you had my love for others, it would never run dry. Don’t you see, that I have let you experience painful situations not to harm you, but to make you more sensitive to others pain!”

 Thinking about Job’s situation in this way made me realize that maybe some of us are like Job’s friends. We might speak the truth, we might give biblical advice, but we don’t really put ourselves in their shoes because we don’t really want to share in their pain. We don’t seek to see the big picture, and like Job’s friends we make false accusations!

1 Corinthians 12: 24-26 But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

When I hurt, Christ hurts, therefore; when a friend is hurting, I should also be hurting.

However, Job’s friends were not entirely wrong- Sin does cause turmoil in our lives, but they failed to admit that everyone, no matter who you are or what you have done, everyone has been a victim of suffering. God allows us to suffer so that he can love and comfort us and then, so we can return that love and comfort to others!

Often times I wonder why bad things happen to me. I also wonder why other people (who do not appear on track with the Lord) receive the blessings I so desperately long for.

I hear myself saying: “Lord, why are you holding out on me? Or why have you done this to me?” When I have this internal dialect with the Lord, I am actually speaking like Eliphaz, I am suggesting that my righteousness deserves A, B, or C and that their sins deserve X, Y, or Z. Like Job’s friends, I do not understand. It is not the Lord who has attacked me, but rather the enemy. Satan is the king of this world, and his mission is to keep me from spreading the gospel. He will do anything to make my heart cold or hard towards God.

Instead of blaming God, I should be encouraged that I am a threat to the enemy. Why would Satan waste his time messing with someone that wasn’t a threat?

EXAMPLE: Do you know how steel is made? It goes through a process of heating and cooling. The metal is heated at an extreme temperature and then cooled with water or air. Once it has cooled down, it again is heated (often at a higher temperature) and then cooled again. This takes place over and over until the metal has hardened or reached its full strength.

Thinking about this illustration, you could say it is a means of hardening the steel or a way to strengthen the metal- both statements would be correct.

Tying this illustration to our lesson, there are also two ways we can think of pain. Satan and God have different agenda’s during this process. Satan believes trials and tribulations will harden our hearts towards the Lord; but God allows us to walk through difficulties in order to strengthen our spiritual growth.

Psalm 84 v. 5 & v. 7

v. 5 blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. V. 7 they go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

When we look at Job, we see a man who does not go from strength to weakness, but rather strength to strength. This is because he finds strength not in a situation, but rather, his strength is in the Lord.

Looking at Job’s response in Job 16, where Job responds to his friends accusations, we see that he did not allow these obstacles to push him away from the Lord. Even though he did not enjoy or understand why these things were happening- He did not curse the Lord.  Lets see what Job says in his response:

Job 16:19-21 Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.

Reading this passage I instantly thought of Jesus. Jesus is my mediator; he intercedes for my wrong doings. And as I read this verse, I forgot two things:

1.     Job was innocent

If my friends were accusing me of something I had not done, I would be quick to defend myself and prove my innocence. But Job’s reaction, is not immediately to defend himself, instead of back lashing with anger, for being falsely accused, he claims God is his Judge.

If we look back in chapter 6, Job asks God to show him what wrongs have been committed so he can make them right. Job 6: 24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong.” Job is focused on hearing God’s response and unlike many of us- he believes God will respond!

2.     Jesus had not yet come!

In Job 16, Job is asking God to send a mediator- someone to intercede for him. Today we can read this and connect the dots, but Job had no idea that he was asking for Jesus!

A few weeks ago I mentioned how God wants to take things in our lives and make them full circle. When we are in the middle- in the “meantime.” We have no idea why or what will happen, we can only see half of the pie, but God sees the beginning middle and the end.

 It isn’t until we are at the end that we understand why God allowed these things to happen, but we have to trust Him, while we are in the middle, in order to get to the end.

Job didn’t know that Jesus was the answer to his problems. He didn’t know Jesus would come and die to intercede for him. Because Job sought the Lord’s wisdom, he knew that only God could answer the why. Job didn’t try to argue his way out; but he trusted that God would eventually lead him out.

Colossians 1:15-20- For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

We may not get all the answers on this earth- in fact we probably won’t know or see why many painful things happen. But because of what Jesus did on the cross, God will reconcile all things! One day we will understand, but in order to get there, we first have to trust!

So as we close today, I want everyone to ask these questions:

1.)    Am I showing others true love and compassion?

·         Am I like Job or Am I like his friends?

2.)    Am I seeking to just resolve problems? Or do I truly care about other’s pain?

3.)    Has my own heart hardened towards God? Or Is there some bitterness that I am still holding on to?

I think some of us need to admit that we are very much like Job’s accusers and we need to ask the Lord to give us a heart that not only seeks the truth, but that trusts Him, no matter what we are going through! Psalm 56:3- When I am afraid, I will trust in you.