Job chapter 3. Job chapter 3. The title of this message, the sorrows
of an afflicted mind as it pertains to a child of God. This is God's child we're looking
at tonight. And God's dealing with His child. Now in this verse, or in this
chapter, Job is cursing his birthday. And this shows how great his
afflictions were. He says over in verse 20, Why
is light given to him that's in misery? If you'll remember, God allowed
Satan to take everything from him. But now, Job didn't lay
that charge to Satan, did he? He said, the Lord giveth and
the Lord taketh. Now you and I know, you've been
told of God that all things are of God. He's the first cause.
God uses means. He uses second causes, but God's
the first cause. And this trial that Job has gone
through, or went through thousands of years ago, it was purposed
of God, just as ours are. Purposed of God. He had lost everything. He lost
his ten children. He had boils from the top of
his head to the bottom of his feet. And I mean he was in pain. He
couldn't rest, couldn't stand, couldn't comb his hair. Everything
was painful. He could find no rest in body.
And now we can see in this chapter, and here's what we're going to
see in this chapter, the fight now turns inward. The hardest
fight we have is within. It's going to be the mind. We're
going to see Job's mind exercise now pretty much with the rest
of Job. His mind is just going to be
assaulted by Satan and by doubts and by hard accusations in some
places. But the war is now going to be
taken inward. And that's the toughest war to
fight is the war within. But this is God's child suffering,
and he's suffering by the will and purpose of God. He said in
your prayer two or three times about God's purpose being done.
And right here in Job, in the book of Job, God's purpose is
being done. His son is being conformed to
the image of Christ, even though Christ is not yet born, yet Christ
is alive. Didn't he say, I know my Redeemer
liveth? He's talking about Jesus Christ. Now we know Him by Jesus. We know His name, that name that
was given at birth. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sin. But He's talking
about the same One. He's being conformed to the same
One that we're conformed to, the Lord Jesus Christ. And He
suffered according to the will and purpose of God. Satan is
not out of control here. Satan's not out of control. He's under the divine control
and direction of God Almighty. Whether He likes it or not, whether
He knows it or not, He's doing the divine will of God. Our God
controls everything. Everything. I tell you what,
He controls the marching of an army across the nation as well
as a fly flying across this room. That's as much the control and
purpose of God as an army is. Our God is involved in absolutely
everything that involves His children. David said, Thy thoughts
to us can't be reckoned up in order. God's in control here. Now, no
suffering is pleasant when it's going on. You know, when I was a young
man, I didn't have a lot of compassion. I didn't have a lot of compassion. I was more like pull yourself
up by your bootstraps and quit crying around. But you know when
you get older you start to have a little compassion because you
have a little experience. And you start to have some empathy
for people who are suffering. And when I read Job now, I read
it differently than I did 40 years ago, 45 years ago. I read it differently. I get
more out of it. I get more out of it. Now, no suffering, as I said,
is pleasant when it's going on. It says in Hebrews 12, 11. Now,
no chastening. The word chastening is discipline. No discipline for the present
seemeth to be joyous. I never thanked my parents one
time for spanking me. I never thanked them one time.
But you know, when I look back, those are the things I ought
to thank them for. At times, they disciplined me. No chastening for the present
seems to be joyous but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields
the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised
thereby. Now this trial that God put Job
through is like the refiner's fire that refines the gold. Listen to what Job says later
on in his trial. And you can see, it's like when
you look at the beginning of this, then when you get deeper
into the book of Job, you see Job understanding almost coming back,
or he's maturing in this trial. Trials will mature you. But listen
to what he says when we get to chapter 23, verse 10, he says,
But he, that is God, and this is Job speaking, but God knoweth
the way that I take, when he has tried me, I shall come forth
as gold. That doesn't sound like chapter
3, does it? But he says, God knows the way that I take when
He's tried me, when He's disciplined me, when he's chasing me. He knows where I take. He knows
I'll come forth as gold. This is not going to destroy
me. This is one of the reasons the
trial, when God sends us trials, they need to run their course,
because we need to learn some lessons, spiritual lessons. We
need to learn some real spiritual lessons. And I'll give you some
of those here in just a minute. But this trial that Job is going
through is a need-be trial. Every trial, every heartache,
every tear that God brings from our eyes and wrings from our
heart is a need be. It's absolutely a need be. Or
it wouldn't be. Turn over to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1, listen to this. Let
me find out where I'm at. 1 Peter 1, look in verse... 6 and 7, wherein you greatly rejoice,
though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through
manifold many temptations, many trials, that the trial of your
faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though
it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. These trials, are more precious,
he says, than gold that's tried in the fire. That it might appear
real and genuine at the appearing of Jesus Christ. I want to know
I believe God here. I do. I want to know the faith
I have is of God. That's what I want to know. I
want to know it's of God. Now in trials, listen, in trials
we learn Here's what some things we learn. We learn how temporal
things are, don't we? They are just temporal. We learn
that. These things we own, we are given, they are just temporal.
And we learn that it's the heavenly blessings that are of true value.
The true value of things are the things I cannot lose. I thought
of this in the study today. Don't overvalue those things
which you can lose. But really, I need to state it
like this. Don't overvalue those things which you're going to
lose. You're going to lose them. The day you shut your eyes, these
things are gone. They're worthless. The day I
die, everything I have is worthless to me, except for what I have
in Jesus Christ. What I have in Him is worth more
than gold can buy. We learn also in trials, we learn
something of our frailty. David said, Lord, teach me how
frail I am. What a prayer! Have you ever
asked God that? Have you ever asked God to teach
you how frail you are? Trials teach us something of
our frailty. And it also teaches us at the
same time of our great need and dependence on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Listen to what our Lord says
in John 15. Without Me, you can do nothing. Without Me, you can't
do anything. And then we learn, listen, we
learn in trials, we learn more about our sinfulness. We think we would not do or say
a certain thing, or do certain things. We think, I wouldn't
do that, I wouldn't want to say that. But then a certain trial
comes along and we see what's still in us. You think Job thought
this was in him? Listen to this. Romans 7.18. This is Paul. This
is the Apostle Paul. For I know that in me that is
in my flesh." He clarifies his difference between flesh and
spirit, because in me, in that new man, is the Holy Spirit,
and he's good. So Paul clarifies, he's saying
here, I know this, I know this by experience. One time he didn't,
but he says, I know that in me, in my flesh, dwelleth no good
thing. For to will is present with me,
but how to perform that which is good I find not. That which
I would do, I don't do. That which I would not do, I
do." Now this trial here, this trial
that came upon Job, you know, only God knows the whole picture. But I think this, I think Job
needed to have a deeper understanding of this old wretched man that
I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? As Paul spoke in Romans chapter
seven. And the reason I say that Job
needed a deeper understanding of old wretched man that I am,
is because at the end of it, he said, by the hearing of the
ear, I've heard of thee, but now, now might I seeth thee and
I abhor myself. I hate myself. That's what Job's
saying. I hate myself. And so evidently, he needed that,
and we need that. We need trials to bring us to
see our frailty, our weakness, the sinfulness that's still there.
We need them. It's a need-be. All trials are
need-be trials. But you notice here, as we'll
go along here, through all of this, Job still does not curse
God. Satan said, skin for skin, I
bet you I can make him curse you to your face. Skin for skin. But in all this, Job did not
curse God. And you know what it says at
the end of the book of Job? God said, and Job says, you know,
we'll go through this, Job says some pretty hard things. But
you know what God said at the end of it? Job has spoken to
things of me that are right. Now Job's three friends, he says,
you have it. And it had to be an offering made for them, for
their sin. He said, Job has spoken of me the things that are right. God didn't bring up anything
negative that Job said. And Job said some hard things.
You know why? Because in Christ, our sins are
gone. They're already been taken care
of. They've been taken care of. So what we're going to see here,
we're going to see a child of God who's in great pain and great
misery, but nevertheless, He's a child of God. He's saved by
grace and God's going to keep Him. God said, My grace is sufficient
for thee. It doesn't matter what trial,
what heartache He puts us under, His grace is sufficient to carry
us through. And we see that here in Job.
Now in verses 1-10, Job curses the day he was born. As I said,
the battle now turns within to Job's mind. He says in verse
1, he curses his day. Curses be that day. He's cursing
here his natural birthday. That's what he's cursing. That
day is his natural birthday. And I thought about these. I
gave some real thought to these things. Why? Why did Job curse
his birthday? Well, here's some reasons, I
think. That's when his trouble started. The day he was born, his natural
birthday, is the day his trouble started. Job traces back to the
fountain of all his troubles to his birth. Listen to what
David says in Psalm 51.5, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and
in sin did my mother conceive me. Sin is the root of all my
problems. You know why there's no more
tears, no more sorrows in heaven? You know why? No more sin. There's no more sin. It's gone. Listen to Job 14.1. Man that
is born of a woman is a few days and full of trouble. Every person
in this room can attest to this. Full of trouble. You have a good
day, you have a good week, and next thing you know, A bad day
comes along. Trouble, trouble, trouble. Trouble,
trouble, trouble. He says in Job 5, 7, Yet man
is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. And it says there in verse 2
that he opened his mouth. The pain became so great he had
to let it out. And he says in verse 3, Let not
anybody, I'm going to paraphrase this, Let not anyone celebrate
my birthday. Isn't that what we do? Don't
we celebrate birthdays? He said, don't let anybody celebrate my
birthday. Blot it off the calendar. Let God blot it off the calendar.
Let Him not number among the numbers of the month. Just blot
it out. Let no one rejoice at the announcement
of my birth. A man child has been born. That
was a great joy back then. He said, don't let anybody rejoice
in that. This is misery. This is misery.
He said in verse 4-9, let darkness fall upon it, like that darkness
that was in Genesis, when darkness was upon the face of the deep.
He said, don't let one light shine upon that day. You know,
when I was reading this, I thought, I can see in this a measure of
true repentance. When a sinner is brought to life,
there is sorrow over one's life. Isn't there? There's real sorrow
over one's life, over their sinfulness. There's nothing good in my flesh.
That's what the Bible teaches. Then you learn it by experience,
when God wakes you up, gives you life. And you learn by experience,
there's nothing good in my flesh, even all the way back to my birthday,
when I was born a sinner. I didn't become a sinner at a
certain age. I was born one. I was born one. Born in sin,
shaped in iniquity, he said. It says in the psalm, they go
forth from the womb speaking lies. Right from birth. And every sinner that's been
born of God knows that without Christ, that without the Lord
Jesus Christ, their birthday is a cursed day. Don't you know
that? If I don't have Christ, if I
don't have Him, My birthday has a curse all over it. I assure you, I assure you that
everyone who has perished and under the wrath of God right
now wishes they were never born. That's the truth. That's the
truth. It takes the work of God to bring
us off this world and off ourselves to see what we really are and
to flee to Christ. But I'll tell you this, no child
of God has ever cursed their new birthday in Christ. Not even under the severest trial
have they ever, ever cursed the day they were born of God. No child of God has ever done
that. Yes, we can curse the day we were born on this earth, and
you can be brought to such pain like Job that it's just misery.
But you'll never hear a child of God cursed the day they were
born of God. And that, now listen, that's
my real birthday. That's my real birthday. October
the 11th, 1955, when I was born, will one day be dissolved. It'll be dissolved. But the day
I was born of God will never be dissolved. Never. Now Job asked some difficult
questions here in verses 11 and 12. Why did I not die from the
womb? This man is in misery. This child
of God is in misery. Why did I not die from the womb?
Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?
Why did the knees prevent me? Or why the breast that I should
suck? What's the purpose of living
in such agony? What's the purpose that God has
kept me alive? Well, the Scripture says in Deuteronomy
29, 29, the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those
things which are revealed belong to us and our children. I don't know why. I don't know
all the whys. I don't know that. God does.
God does, and that's good enough, isn't it? God knows. But there are some whys that
we do know. There are some things we do know.
First of all, Job needed this trial. Let me say it this way. We needed
Job to live. We needed Job to have this trial. How many times has this book
of Job helped saints of God? who've read it. How many times
have they been helped by this? Reading this and seeing the hand
of God, seeing the hand of God in the life of Job and in his
sufferings. You see, we read the book and
you and I get to see, we get to see not only what's on stage,
but we get to see what's going on behind the curtain. Job didn't
know this conversation was going on between God and Satan. We
know this, and because we now know this, then when we go through
something, we have a little more understanding of how to handle
it. Job, do you think it would have helped him to have this
book? And it would have been written about somebody else,
and he could have read this? It helps. It helps. Job was a brother born for adversity. How many times we look back to
this? And then I'll tell you what,
Job needed this, he needed this trial and we needed this to happen
to Job so we would be allowed to look at it, learn from it. These things are written for
our learning and we can learn from it. And then listen, this is how we are conformed
to the image of Christ. You want to be conformed to the
image of Christ? Well, it doesn't just involve
reading the Word of God and hearing the Word of God preached. It
also involves suffering for Christ's sake. You know why Job was suffering?
For Christ's sake. If Job was a drunk, if he was
nothing but a drunk, do you think Satan would have went to God
over him? He went to God over him because Job worshipped God. Satan said, he worshipped you
for nothing. He worshipped you because you
blessed him. He says that Job worshipped God
for naught. The reason he worshipped you is for the blessings you've
given him. Job worshipped God. And every child of God that's
going to be conformed to the image of Christ is going to go
through suffering. It's just so. And here's another
reason Job needed this. God's going to give Job doubled. He's going to give Job double
all of what he possessed. He's going to double it. And
God purposed this before the world began. He's going to give
Job double of all that he possessed, but first he must strip him so
that he never sets his heart on these things when he doubles
them. You remember Paul? He had the abundance of revelations.
You know what God did to Paul? He gave him a thorn in the flesh,
and he never removed it. lest he be lifted up with pride."
And so he left that thorn in the flesh, but he had this abundant
revelation of Christ in the Gospel. And God's going to double everything
Job has, but He's going to do it in such a way that Job is
never going to set his heart on these things. In heaven we have far more than
we have here, and we are to set our hearts on things above, right?
The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh. But what He's given us
in heaven is forever. It's forever. They're durable
riches, it's called. Durable riches. That's why it
says in Colossians 3, set your heart on things above, not on
things of the earth. But I think also here, in reading
it through this week, I thought once again, When we see the sufferings
of Job and all that he had to say, we can admire again the
truly perfect man, Jesus Christ, who suffered the wrath of God
without complaining. He never said one hard thing
about God. Job is suffering. He suffered the loss, a great
loss, all that he owned, suffered the loss of his children, But Christ suffered the wrath
of God. Job was not suffering hell. Jesus
Christ suffered hell. And He truly, truly is the perfect
man. It says Job was perfect and upright.
He's perfect for sure in Christ. But Christ is perfect in Himself,
being God. And it made me admire the Lord
Jesus Christ, who it says in Isaiah 53, He was led as a lamb
to the slaughter, and He opened not His mouth. When He was reviled,
it says, He reviled not again. When He was hanging on that cross,
He said, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. While
he's hanging on that cross, instead of thinking of himself, he tells
John to take care of Mary. He's there in all that agony
and pain, in all that torment, the fire of God. Who can even
comprehend the fire of God's anger and wrath falling upon
him? And what's he doing? He's seeing to it that she's
taken care of. He's praying. Father, forgive
them. They don't know what they do. That's the difference in the
Son of God and us who are made sons of God.
Because we still have sin in us. He knew no sin. Knew no sin. He said, He said, He never, let me say it this
way. He never said, I wish I had not been born. He said, for this
hour came I into the world. He said this, not my will, but
thine be done. And all that suffering and pain,
he said, not my will. There in the garden of Gethsemane,
if this cup can't pass from me, thy will be done. It really makes that stand out
to me. And then here in verse 13, why
Job wishes he had died at birth. There's some things I want to
point out here that just jumped out at me that I can see, you
know, in the death of a believer, which is not death, but we'll
call it that. I want to give some observations
in what happens when a believer dies. Let me read what he says
here. He says in verse 13, if he had
died, he says, for now should I have lain still and been quiet,
I should have slept. Then had I been at rest. And
in verse 17 and 19, he says, there the wicked cease from troubling
in the grave, and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners
rest together. They hear not the voice of the
oppressor. The small and great are there, and the servant is
free from his master." Here are some observations in what happens
when a believer dies. Job is saying, if I had died
at birth, he knew he would not cease to exist. He knew that. Job knew the gospel. But here's this, he says here
in verse 13, I should have slept. You know when the Lord spoke
of Lazarus, he said he's asleep. He's asleep. If I had died, if
a believer, when a believer dies, It's rest. It's spoken of as sleep. We fall
asleep. The unbeliever, to him it's death. To him or her it's death and
unbelief. But to us who believe, we just fall asleep. We fall
asleep and then there's rest. He's speaking of rest. And we
know that Christ is our rest. We know that the grave lying
in a six-foot grave is not rest. Christ is rest. Christ is rest. We sleep and we rest in Christ,
and the wicked cease from troubling? Satan, listen, Satan and sin
cannot go beyond the grave. They can't go past that door.
That door is shut to them. The moment a believer dies, All
suffering, all trouble, all the oppressors cease. The bill collectors, they just
go write it off because they're not going to get anything out
of you. They can't go beyond that grave. It all stops there
for the believer. There the prisoners have hope.
You know, in Zechariah, I think we're called prisoners of hope.
That's what we are, prisoners of hope. And there the servant's
free from his master. Sin and Satan molest no more. My, my, my. And then he gets
to this question. Why is light given to the miserable?
20 and 23, and I'll wind this down. Wherefore, why is light
given to him that's in misery and life unto the bitter and
soul, which long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it
more than hid treasures? which rejoice exceedingly and
glad when they find the grave. Why is it like giving to a man
whose way is hidden and whom God has hedged in? But why is
it like giving to him that's in misery and bitter of soul
and he longs for the grave but he can't die? You know, you can't die. You
cannot die until your time. David said, my times are in his
hands. I mean the whole world could
aim its guns at you and you can't die until it's time. But to give the short answer
to Job's question is why he couldn't die is for this reason. And it's
the same reason for me and you. It's for our good and God's glory. Our good and God's glory. I guarantee you when this was
over, he was a better father, better husband, better neighbor.
I mean, he was outstanding as it was. But I bet you his heart
was far better. He was more gracious, more kind,
more loving, more tender, more patient. But now sometimes, listen, in
verse 24, sometimes the trial is long. You ever wonder when
the trial is going to end? I'm telling you, I've seen some
people go through it for a long time. I've seen some people,
God's children, suffer with some sickness for a long time. A long
time. He said, my sighing comes before
I get up and eat breakfast. I'm crying before I get up out
of bed. My roars are poured out like
waters. I just roared, it's just like,
He said, it's just like water. There's no lead out. There's
no lead out. Have you ever had such a trial
that you just want the Lord to just let his hand up just enough
to let you breathe, to let me take a breath? Job couldn't even take a breath.
It was just so hard and so pressed down. But there's no let up,
it seemed like. And he says in verse 25, this
thing just keeps getting worse. I'm glad, that's why I said,
I'm glad we got the whole book of Job. And we're not just going
to stop on this chapter. We're going to stop on this chapter
tonight, but it's one of those things you've got to go to the
end. But he says here in verse 25,
"...the thing which I greatly feared has come upon me, and that which I was afraid of
has come to me." He may be speaking here of God's displeasure, He may be speaking of the loss
of his children. You go back to the first chapter,
he said after they had a feast, he would offer sacrifices in
case they cursed God. He would offer sacrifices for
them in case they cursed God in their feast. Whatever it is,
evidently in this trial, whether it's the loss of all things,
the loss of his children, or it's God's displeasure, he says,
that which I feared, I'm now going through it. I'm now going
through it. It says in Ecclesiastes 7.14,
in the day of prosperity, be joyful. If whatever you're doing
right now, if God has prospered you in it, be joyful. That's why he said, be joy, enjoy
it. All things are ours be given to us to enjoy. But in the day
of adversity, consider. Consider, God also has set the
one over against the other. There will be a day of prosperity
and there'll be a day of adversity. And it'll go like that until
we go to the grave. We'll have days of prosperity,
we'll have days of adversity. And when we have the days of
adversity, don't sit down and complain about it. Sit down and
consider. Lord, what's going on? Why? You know, it's not wrong
to ask God in a humble spirit, in a right spirit. In a right
spirit, it's not wrong to ask God why. It's not wrong. No, it's wrong to ask God, why
are you doing this? That's a bad attitude. But Lord,
show me why that I might know. that I might turn and go another
direction, the direction you would have me to go. Consider, God set one against
the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
But God sets one against the other. And Job said, I was not
in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet, yet trouble
came. You know, though a man live ever
so godly, It doesn't keep trouble away, does it? This scripture
I'm going to read here fits Job. 2 Timothy 3.12, "...Yea, all
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
Job lived godly. And listen, Job lived godly in
Christ Jesus. Not two different gods. Same
one. He said, he's a perfect and upright
man, one that fears God and shuns evil. Those two always go together.
Where you find a right fear of God, you'll find that person
shunning evil. But here's what it's saying.
He said, I was not in safety. Job knew he could lose everything.
He knew that. Neither had I rest. He didn't
rest in his material possessions. He knew that. Solomon said, riches
have wings, they fly away. He said, neither was I quiet,
yet trouble came, all was gone. God has tried me, God has taken
all that I have. God has taken it all. Now, let me close with this.
How should we, how should we, especially, you know, reading
the book of Job, and Job didn't have the advantage that you and
I have, we have this, and we have his story. We have his story. Now nobody knows who wrote the
book of Job. Some of the writers I read said
Job may have written it. And I thought, what a blessing. What a blessing it would have
been if God used Job to write his own story and open the curtains
and let Job see what really went on. I thought, now that would
have been a blessing. That would have been a blessing.
But I don't know who wrote it. It's one of the oldest books
in the Bible. But how should we look at the
trials that God sends our way? We read the book of Job, and
we read all these others. You know, Jeremiah cursed the
day he was born too? Jeremiah did that. He cursed
his birthday too. Well, let me read to you 1 Corinthians
4, verse 17-18. For our light afflictions, Paul was stoned and left for
dead, shipwrecked. I mean, he tells all that he
went through, my soul, all that he went through. And Paul calls
them light afflictions. Light afflictions. I know people
that have buried their children. I know believers that have buried
their children. And Paul says, it's a light affliction. Listen,
which is but for a moment. Every trial has an end. It's
just for a moment. Whatever you're going through,
it's just for a moment. But listen now, this trial, this
affliction is but for a moment, it works for us. It worketh. It's continual. It's continually
working for us. The trials that God puts us through
are continually at work in us. They worketh for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory. I bet you Job's not
complaining now. I guarantee you. And Job, if he could come back,
wouldn't change a thing. He wouldn't change a thing. While
we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which
are not seen. For the things which are seen
are temporal. The trials, the material things we have, they're
just temporal. Our fleshly relationships are temporal. You know, I've
got four sisters and two brothers, and dad has passed on now. You
know, Vicki, my wife, my son, Jason, Jeremy, my grandkids,
you know, all those fleshly relationships are going to be dissolved. But the relationship you and
I have in Christ as brothers and sisters will not be dissolved.
This is the real family. This is the real family. We look at the things which are
not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the
things which are not seen are eternal. They're eternal. So
now, this is it. This is it, I promise. I didn't
know if I'd get this far, but I did. What is a child of God
to do in this situation. Cursing his birthday. Why did
I not die when I was born? My life is just misery upon misery
upon misery. There's no end to this. I mean,
he lost all of his possessions. I hesitate to say he lost his
children. I like what Henry said one time,
and I'm getting way ahead of myself now. I'm jumping all the
way to the end of the book. God doubled everything Job had. He
doubled his sheep, his oxen, he doubled everything. He didn't
double his children, because he had ten of them in
glory. I thought, now that's a thought.
He didn't double, he had ten more children. He didn't have
twenty more, he had ten more. What is the child of God to do
in this situation? Here it is. Isaiah 50 verse 10. Who is among you that feareth
the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that he sins,
the preacher, pastor, that walketh in darkness? This is exactly
what Job is doing right now. He's walking in darkness. He
says in one place, I go forward, I can't find him. I go backward,
I can't find him. I go to the left, to the right,
I can't find God. This child of God that's walking
in darkness and He has no light. You don't know what's going on.
You're confused. Job says that in verse 10. I'm full of confusion.
Here it is. Let him trust in the name of
the Lord and stay upon his God. I don't know what's happening,
but I know the One that's making it all happen. I know Him. I don't know how to get through
this. I can't find Him, but I know who He is. He's holy. He's just. He can do no wrong. He's gracious.
He's merciful. I'm just going to rest right
here through this darkness. I'm going to sit right here because
I don't know which way to go.