Job 3:20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul?
And the drought continues Friends, with nary a drop of blessing to quench the thirst of the parched land. I’ve never seen the little patch of grass in my backyard so dry. It’s brown like dirt now, cause a lot of the grass seems dead. But Anton Chekhov, (1860-1904) the Russian physician and writer, said something that helps to keep the dark clouds of doubt and fear at bay. ‘Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick ripe fruit.’ Oh Friends, that’s one of the most valuable lessons we can ever learn in this life! If we learn that there are good and bad times, times of plenty and times of paucity, then we’ll be able to bring some sense of balance to our topsy-turvy lives. Many of us lurch back and forth from good to bad times; it’s not a smooth continuum like we’d expect or desire, but more like a crazy pendulum. However, as believers, we have to learn to stay strong and handle the swings between adversity and good times with true, true faith, because that’s what it takes to deal with the harsh realities of this life, which unfortunately seem to be getting harsher instead of softer with each passing day. We’d expect that with all our modern inventions and advances in science and technology that we’d all be living on easy street, but sadly, in comparison to our wealth and knowledge today, more people are finding it harder to make ends meet. In my lifetime, and I’ve been around for a while, (smile) I’ve never seen such worldwide panic and disaster. I’ve never seen or heard of so many people losing their jobs and homes, nor the proliferation of food banks and soup kitchens in the wealthiest countries. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Job who suddenly lost all of his hard earned wealth and family, through no fault of his own, bemoaned the day of his birth. ‘Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost (expire, perish) when I came out of the belly? …For now should (would) I have lain still and been quiet, I should (would) have slept: then had I been at rest.’ (Job 3:11,13) That great prophet, Jeremiah, also suffered serious misfortune and calamity, (prison, beatings) while serving God, and he too cried out in agony. ‘Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed…Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour (toil) and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?’ (Jer.20:14,18) And here is King Hezekiah’s reaction when He was sick, and told by Isaiah: ‘Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect (loyal, whole) heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore (bitterly).’ (Is.38:1-3) Oh my people, it’s only human when faced with disasters, dangerous situations and/or serious problems to hold our heads and bawl and wish we were never born. And few of us have ever lost as much as Job in one fell swoop. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that life is over, or that it will be continually dark and desolate from that time onward. What I’m trying to do here today is point out that whenever things get bad, it’s all right to moan and weep and grieve for a time, but it’s definitely not all right to give up on ourselves and our God. And to prove that theory – sorry, it’s no longer a theory, but now a proven fact – we’ll take a glimpse into the lives of three men of great faith, who suffered serious setbacks, who whined and moaned and bewailed their very birth, but NEVER gave up on God. The first is Job, who candidly asks in our Bit: ‘Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul?’ Now that’s a very good question my brethren, one that we’ve all asked at one time or another, but could never get a satisfactory answer. And that’s possibly because there’s none. All those times when we’re sad and miserable and just want to be left alone in the darkness of our moods and souls, but some bright light, human or otherwise, always comes and intervenes in our misery and desire to be alone. Likewise, many times we just want to give up the ghost and depart this harsh, unfair life, but instead find ourselves tied even tighter to this mortal coil. None of us really understand it, and often, like Job, sadly declare: ‘ My soul is weary of (loathes) my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself (give free course to my complaint); I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine (look favourably) upon the counsel of the wicked?’ (Job 10:1-3) Or we can say like Jeremiah in his Lamentations: ‘I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into (made me walk in) darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day…. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about (walled me in), that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.’ (Lam.3:1-3,6-8) Yes my people, many of us are trying to live righteously, but constantly find ourselves facing one disastrous situation after another. Please take solace in the fact that these men of great faith all tried to live righteously too, but in the Lord’s wisdom and His overall plans, they suffered great mishaps. They beseeched, complained and bewailed their birth, but most importantly NEVER GAVE UP. So it’s okay to cry out and weep and moan, but remember, it’s unchristian to ever give up. Tomorrow, God willing, we’ll continue this topic, and see God’s response to these men’s wailing and moaning. Till then, take care mih people. And may the good Lord bless and keep us all from harm’s way, and give us the strength and faith to face our current problems. Much LOVE!…when disaster strikes…weep and moan…but NEVER, EVER GIVE UP…
And the drought continues Friends, with nary a drop of blessing to quench the thirst of the parched land. I’ve never seen the little patch of grass in my backyard so dry. It’s brown like dirt now, cause a lot of the grass seems dead. But Anton Chekhov, (1860-1904) the Russian physician and writer, said something that helps to keep the dark clouds of doubt and fear at bay. ‘Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick ripe fruit.’ Oh Friends, that’s one of the most valuable lessons we can ever learn in this life! If we learn that there are good and bad times, times of plenty and times of paucity, then we’ll be able to bring some sense of balance to our topsy-turvy lives. Many of us lurch back and forth from good to bad times; it’s not a smooth continuum like we’d expect or desire, but more like a crazy pendulum. However, as believers, we have to learn to stay strong and handle the swings between adversity and good times with true, true faith, because that’s what it takes to deal with the harsh realities of this life, which unfortunately seem to be getting harsher instead of softer with each passing day. We’d expect that with all our modern inventions and advances in science and technology that we’d all be living on easy street, but sadly, in comparison to our wealth and knowledge today, more people are finding it harder to make ends meet. In my lifetime, and I’ve been around for a while, (smile) I’ve never seen such worldwide panic and disaster. I’ve never seen or heard of so many people losing their jobs and homes, nor the proliferation of food banks and soup kitchens in the wealthiest countries. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Job who suddenly lost all of his hard earned wealth and family, through no fault of his own, bemoaned the day of his birth. ‘Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost (expire, perish) when I came out of the belly? …For now should (would) I have lain still and been quiet, I should (would) have slept: then had I been at rest.’ (Job 3:11,13) That great prophet, Jeremiah, also suffered serious misfortune and calamity, (prison, beatings) while serving God, and he too cried out in agony. ‘Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed…Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour (toil) and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?’ (Jer.20:14,18) And here is King Hezekiah’s reaction when He was sick, and told by Isaiah: ‘Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect (loyal, whole) heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore (bitterly).’ (Is.38:1-3) Oh my people, it’s only human when faced with disasters, dangerous situations and/or serious problems to hold our heads and bawl and wish we were never born. And few of us have ever lost as much as Job in one fell swoop. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that life is over, or that it will be continually dark and desolate from that time onward. What I’m trying to do here today is point out that whenever things get bad, it’s all right to moan and weep and grieve for a time, but it’s definitely not all right to give up on ourselves and our God. And to prove that theory – sorry, it’s no longer a theory, but now a proven fact – we’ll take a glimpse into the lives of three men of great faith, who suffered serious setbacks, who whined and moaned and bewailed their very birth, but NEVER gave up on God. The first is Job, who candidly asks in our Bit: ‘Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul?’ Now that’s a very good question my brethren, one that we’ve all asked at one time or another, but could never get a satisfactory answer. And that’s possibly because there’s none. All those times when we’re sad and miserable and just want to be left alone in the darkness of our moods and souls, but some bright light, human or otherwise, always comes and intervenes in our misery and desire to be alone. Likewise, many times we just want to give up the ghost and depart this harsh, unfair life, but instead find ourselves tied even tighter to this mortal coil. None of us really understand it, and often, like Job, sadly declare: ‘ My soul is weary of (loathes) my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself (give free course to my complaint); I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine (look favourably) upon the counsel of the wicked?’ (Job 10:1-3) Or we can say like Jeremiah in his Lamentations: ‘I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into (made me walk in) darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day…. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about (walled me in), that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.’ (Lam.3:1-3,6-8) Yes my people, many of us are trying to live righteously, but constantly find ourselves facing one disastrous situation after another. Please take solace in the fact that these men of great faith all tried to live righteously too, but in the Lord’s wisdom and His overall plans, they suffered great mishaps. They beseeched, complained and bewailed their birth, but most importantly NEVER GAVE UP. So it’s okay to cry out and weep and moan, but remember, it’s unchristian to ever give up. Tomorrow, God willing, we’ll continue this topic, and see God’s response to these men’s wailing and moaning. Till then, take care mih people. And may the good Lord bless and keep us all from harm’s way, and give us the strength and faith to face our current problems. Much LOVE!…when disaster strikes…weep and moan…but NEVER, EVER GIVE UP…
SCRIP-BITS 