How long can we sit in despair? What are we hoping to accomplish in our despair? Are we looking for answers and help? ”What is man that You magnify him, and that You are concerned about him. That You examine him every morning and try him every moment? Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle? 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 do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust; and You will seek me, but I will not be.” Job 7:17-21
As we live out our relationship with God are we guaranteed to avoid moments of doubt, despair or confusion? Job was going about his life when in a single moment he had immense loss. It makes a lot of sense that he is feeling weary as he speaks with his friends. When trouble falls upon us we will wonder why is this happening. Job’s thoughts are focused inward as he looks upon his ruined life desiring to have an answer from God. Have you been in Job’s position? How did you react? Do you sometimes wonder why God is allowing your season of trouble and pain?
Bildad the Shuhite replies to Job in a similar manner as Eliphaz the Temanite. There surly must be something in Job’s life that has caused this calamity to fall upon him. Is it his forefathers, his children or Job himself that God is displeased with? What in his past might make God do this? Does God weigh our deeds on a scale waiting to see if it will tip past level towards evil so He can let loose calamity? Is this the view that Bildad holds of God, an authoritarian figure that cannot be fully understood?
Your view of God will be the most important factor in how you endure tribulation in your life and in you effectiveness in comforting others. If you are as Bildad and perceive God as only an authoritarian figure you cannot move beyond judgement to offer healing. When you have grown to love the Lord you God with all of your heart, all of your mind, with all of your soul, and all of your strength you will truly know God. That knowledge of a loving Father who is seeking to restore fellowship to His beloved will empower you to help the downtrodden.
As you cling to the Lord you will not be exempt from the troubles of life but you will know that God faithful and His great love, expressed in its fullness upon the cross of Calvary, is enough to carry you through the darkest night. I guarentee that you will still have moments of doubt, despair, and confusion as you sojourn in this life but Hope is still alive. Cling to the Lord your God in the moments of pain. Shed tears over your heartache as you stand against the tide of lifes tribulations because your foundation in Jesus Christ cannot be moved.
