Bible with Brandi Week 37 – Job, chapters 6-7

Suffering, left unchecked, can do substantial damage to one’s soul if one’s thinking is not purposely steered towards truth.

This is because suffering often doesn’t make sense. It is not something that we can wrap our minds around, as we were not created to suffer. We were created for glory – for signs and wonders that glorify our Father. But in the fallen world, suffering happen. And, to remain safe, our hearts must decide to stay steadfast in truth. We cannot even entertain a thought that is not in line with God’s thoughts towards us.

In chapters 6 and 7 of Job, we see Job whose soul suffering outweighs his tremendous physical and worldly suffering. He has lost much and his body wastes away in misery. Yet he is not comforted. Not by friends, not by spouse, and according to him, not by the Lord.

His grief is expressed in chapter 7:17-21. Listen as Job cries,

“What is man, that You should exalt him,

That You should set Your heart on him, That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment?

How long?

Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?

Have I sinned?

What have I done to You, O watcher of men?

Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity...?”

Here we get a glimpse of Job’s turmoil. He mistakenly thinks it is God who “set” His heart on him. This is interesting language…because it is very close to what God asks of ha satan in chapter 2, verse 3: “Have you considered My servant Job?” The Hebrew expression is actually “have you set your heart towards My servant Job”! It is not God, but ha satan who has set his heart on destroying Job. He wants to see Job bārak God – a word that literally means “bless,” but in these passages is used as a euphemism for curse or reject God. Ha satan wants Job to completely turn his heart away from God, just as Lucifer did.

But Job begins to interpret God through the lens of his pain. Job knows what has happened to him. He knows what his body feels like. He knows what he has lost. He knows the grief of losing his children, his possessions, his health, and now even the comfort of those around him. But he does not know what is happening behind the scenes. He cannot see chapter 1 and chapter 2 like we can. He wasn’t privy to the conversation between God and ha satan. He doesn’t know that God has not abandoned him. He doesn’t know that his suffering is not punishment for some hidden sin.

All Job knows is that he is suffering. And suffering has begun to accuse him. And eventually, Job begins asking, “Have I sinned? What have I done to You?” This is the subtle danger of suffering. It can make us question not only why God allowed something, but who God is. Our circumstances are real, but they are not always an accurate revelation of what God is doing. Job’s pain was real. His grief and confusion were real. But some of his conclusions were not.

And I think this is a word for us. We cannot always control what happens to us. We cannot always stop suffering from coming. We cannot always understand why God allowed something.

But we can guard what we believe about Him in the middle of it.

We can say:

“I don’t understand this, but I know God is good.”

“I don’t understand why this happened, but I know God loves me.”

“I don’t see what He is doing, but I know He has not abandoned me.”

“I am hurting, but I will not allow my pain to tell me who God is.”

That is steadfastness. That is faith.