Job’s prayer

When God Is Silent.

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I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me. You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it, and you toss me about in the roar of the storm. For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living. – Job 30:20-23 ESV

Job was in a very difficult place. He was suffering greatly and was struggling to understand the why behind it all. His friends were blaming all his problems on sin. But Job kept defending his own innocence, insisting that he had done nothing wrong. His pain was real. His losses were great. His confusion was intense. So he did what came natural to him – he called out to God. He prayed, sharing his pain and suffering with the only one who could do anything about it. But from Job’s perspective, God was silent. Job remembered a time when God had been his friend and things had been so much better. “Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent, when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were all around me” (Job 29:2-5 ESV). Job longed for the good old days. He wished that things were back to the way they used to be. In those days Job was somebody special. He was well-respected and a pillar of the community. He enjoyed the blessings of God and the admiration of men. But now he was a social pariah. He was seen as sinner who had been punished by an angry God. He had lost all his wealth, his health and all of his children. All he had left was a wife who constantly badgered him to curse God and die, and a few very opinionated friends who seemed to think they spoke for God. And all Job really wanted was answers. He desperately needed to know where God was in all his suffering and why He wasn’t doing anything about it.

We’ve all been there at one time or another. Finding ourselves in a difficult circumstance, unable to figure out what has gone wrong, we cried out to God. But the sky was like brass and our prayers proved ineffective. God was silent. And that silence can lead us to jump to some pretty serious conclusions. It did for Job. He determined that God was behind all his suffering. Not only that, God was persecuting and punishing him. And the end result of it all was going to be death. Job can’t understand why all this is happening to him. He pleads with God, “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, and in his disaster cry for help?” (Job 30:24 ESV). Job reminds God that, in his better days, he was always there to help those in need. So why was God refusing to help him now that he was suffering? He also pleads his case, defending his innocence and declaring his willingness to accept any punishment he deserves. 

“If I have walked with falsehood…”

“if my step has turned aside from the way…”

“If my heart has been enticed toward a woman…“

“If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant…”

“If I have withheld anything that the poor desired…”

“if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing…”

“if I have raised my hand against the fatherless…”

“If I have made gold my trust…”

“If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me…”

“if I have concealed my transgressions as others do…”

Job was willing to accept his punishment – IF he was guilty. But he stuck by his claim of innocence. Which made his suffering all that much harder to understand and endure. He didn’t know why he was having to suffer. And God was not giving him an answer. And the difficult thing for us to understand is that God did not owe Job an answer. God is not obligated to explain Himself to us. We may not always understand or even like what is happening to us or around us, but God doesn’t owe us an explanation. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV). The ways of God are often a mystery to us. His actions may confuse and even anger us, but we must understand that our God is always loving, righteous, just and good. There is always a method behind His seeming madness. He has a very good and righteous reason behind all that He does and all that He allows. His seeming silence is not indicative of inactivity. God was fully aware of all that was going on in Job’s life and He had a plan in place to rectify it and restore Job completely. Job may not have known what the future held, but he should have known that his God was loving, just and good. He is a defender of the weak, a protector of the poor, a friend of the just, and a restorer of the broken and battered.

What Job didn’t know was what God had in store for him. The book ends with the statement, “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10 ESV). “And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:12 ESV). God had heard. God had seen. And God restored the fortunes of Job. His silence was not a sign of indifference. His lack of a response to Job’s prayers was not an indication of anger or dissatisfaction. He had had a plan in place the entire time. God had known what He was going to do. And He did it – at just the right time and in just the right way.

First-Hand Knowledge.

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I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. “Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?” Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. “Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.” I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;  therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. – Job 42:2-6 ESV

Things had not gone well for Job. He had lost everything – his health, his wealth, his children, his pride, and from his perspective, His God. Time and time again Job had cried out to God, but there had been no answer. The only thing he heard was the steady flow of accusations and bad advice from his so-called friends. Job had grown weary and despondent. He had lost all hope. He couldn’t understand why all these things had happened to him. He insisted on his innocence, but had to constantly put up with self-righteous condemnations of his friends. The only way their theology could explain Job’s predicament was to blame it on sin. From their perspective, Job was simply getting what he deserved.

But God finally broke the silence and the first thing Job heard was a question and then a warning. “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me” (Job 38:2-3 ESV). God then preceded to interrogate Job regarding his right to doubt His integrity or question His actions. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4 ESV). For two solid chapters God gives Job a lecture on the incomparable nature of His power, character and status as the Creator of all things. Then God concludes it with yet another question: ““Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it” (Job 40:2 ESV). And all Job can say in response is, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further” (Job 40:4-5 ESV). Then God goes on for another two chapters, establishing His unquestionable integrity and power. God assured Job that He was in complete control. His might had not diminished. His sovereign power was the same as it was when He created the universe. And God’s loving reprimand produced a spirit of confession and repentance in Job. He realized that he had been speaking out of ignorance, talking about things he didn’t understand. His questioning of God had been uncalled for and inappropriate. It had been disrespectful at best and rebellious at worst. Even in his pain and sorrow, Job realized he had no right to treat God with disdain or express his displeasure over how God had been treating Him. God’s ways were beyond his ability to comprehend.

It is interesting to note that everything God told Job was not new news. For the most part God simply recounted His creative powers and used nature to remind Job of His might and sovereignty. God simply gave Job a refresher course in theology. By the time God was done, Job was been reminded of the stark difference between mortal men and the almighty God of the universe. One of the great benefits of the Bible is that it provides us with wonderful stories of God’s power. It reminds us of His divine interactions with mankind and how, over the centuries, God has continued to display His power in unexpected ways. The Bible reminds us that it is risky business to judge God based on circumstances alone. Just when it all looks lost and God is nowhere to be found, we read of Him stepping in and doing incredible things to redeem and rescue His people. Difficulties are never too difficult for God. Tough times never prove too tough for Him. Moments of despair are simply opportunities for God to display His power in our lives.

Job came to a sobering realization that God was in control. He had no legitimate reason or right to question God. And even before God had done a thing to remedy Job’s problem, Job repented. He confessed his arrogant, prideful and disrespectful treatment of God. Up to that point, everything Job knew about God had been second-hand information. But now he had heard directly from God. He had first-hand knowledge. God had spoken to him and He had made His point very clear. Rather than judging God based on the circumstances happening around him, Job had learned to judge his circumstances based on what he knew about God. God was sovereign. God was powerful. God was creative. God was in control at all times. Who are we to question His actions? Who are we to doubt His integrity?