JOB 3:1-26

It may seem out of place in Scripture, but Job is exploring the “joy” of death as an escape from misery. The intensity varies from person to person, but the thought is somewhere in our mortal minds. Under the weight of extreme trouble something inside of us draws us into the darkest of places where we can wonder why we were even born.

Job chose to imagine his misery apart from God

Hopelessness that allows us to desire death rather than life is focused on our physical nature and ignores the spiritual nature. Hopelessness draws power from the pain of this world. Sadly, the world offers so much as salve for the wounds inflicted by our circumstances. Many can actually work for a while … so long as we keep God out of the equation.

Darkness abhors the light

Many good people suffer through dark days. Apart from clinical depression, there certainly is depression flowing from the crushing weight of disappointment, devastation, or the consequences of our own actions. In our minds we gather in so many troubles, we leave no room for God.

Hope returns when God returns

As we read the “rest of the story”, Job is blessed more in his last days than in his former days. The fact remains that he lost people dear to him. He allowed God to go through the grieving process with him, instead of excluding him. Hope is available to us in the darkest of days, because God nurtures our spirit. The focus must shift away from the physical hurt to the spiritual renewal.

Joy returns when hope returns

Ultimately, Job recognized that God never left His side. Instead of allowing the mind to dwell in the darkness of despair, Job emerged from the place where death was the “only” source for joy. Walking with God is not some Pollyanna, utopian dream world where nothing goes wrong. Walking with God is often a stroll through the valley of the shadow of death. With God there is no fear because light shines brighter in the darkness.

When fear is gone, joy can thrive

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of all of this is the expectation that the darkness will go away is we just “do the God thing”. Sometimes our troubles don’t fit so neatly into a distinctive “greater plan”. Please understand that God’s great plan is to simply save your soul. Striving to find some “purpose of God” in all the pain you experience is still a focus on the physical, not the spiritual.

When we endure and overcome, it is by the strength of God feeding our spirit.

In this, God rejoices … the joy of the LORD is then revealed to us as the strength to endure and overcome.

Discover … His Joy

Access … His Joy

Share … His Joy