You want to see what despair used to look like? God allowed Job to be tested by Satan because he was “the finest man in all the earth – a man of complete integrity. He [feared] God and [had] nothing to do with evil” (Job 1:8). So, read what happens to Job and then tell me how bad your day has been:
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger arrived at Job’s home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you. 16 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you. 17 While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you. 18 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home. 19 Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you. 20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. 21 He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord! 22 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God. (Job 1:13-22)(NLT)
I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for Job… crazy stuff… and just think about the time that Job was living in… how was he supposed to talk to God? To make matters worse, Job was then afflicted with a terrible case of skin boils and his own wife told him that he should “curse God and die. Three of his friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) did the “honorable thing to come and tell Job that he was to blame for all of the tragic events and that he must be an awfully wicked and evil man for God to punish him in that way. Job’s biggest problem, though, is that he didn’t even know how to speak with God:
2 “My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud.3 If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court. 4 I would lay out my case and present my arguments. 5 Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me. 6 Would he use his great power to argue with me? No, he would give me a fair hearing. 7 Honest people can reason with him, so I would be forever acquitted by my judge. 8 I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. 9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed. (Job 23:2-9)(NLT)
Can you imagine if this was the way things were today? What would life have been like on September 11, 2001, if we didn’t know how to speak with God? If you weren’t sure where to find God, how could you cope with losing a loved one or everything around you? Things would indeed become desperate quickly. The fact is, however, that God saw fit to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for each of our transgressions and only through the sinless and perfect life of Jesus can we be seen as clean in God’s sight… Thank You, Jesus, for allowing me the privilege of speaking with God… my Father… my Comforter in times of desperation.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)(NLT)
