Day Three – Chapter 3

“Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth” (3:1)

How much pain can a person handle? How much agony must a person experience before they reach their breaking point? After reading of the calamity Job suffered I found myself wondering what my response would have been. He endured the loss of his property, the loss of his children, the loss of his health, the loss of his wife’s respect, and now he is seated in silent agony for seven days with his friends. Then the rant begins and he curses the day he as born.

It is not hard for me to understand his ranting. How many times have we replayed the events of our lives imagining how things could have been different? The specifics of his ranting matters little to me because clearly he is just giving vent to the pent-up frustration over his circumstances. Job was a righteous man, “a blameless and upright man” (1:8), but he was a man, a human being with real feelings. Sometimes we have the tendency to elevate people so high in our esteem that we cannot countenance the fact that they are still human and therefore prone to all the emotions we experience.

What is of particular note, however, is that while Job cursed the day of his birth, he still did not blame God. He did not do as he wife had counseled him in the previous chapter to do, ‘curse God and die.” There is a way to grieve over situations without blaming God or giving away your confidence. It is a dangerous thing to either blame or credit God for things He has not done or has not said.

If you are one who finds themselves in the throes of grief and loss do not make the mistake of giving the impression you are stronger than you are. You, like Job, have a right and reason to grieve. You have suffered loss. It is painful. You are hurting. Perhaps you are angry. To keep it bottled up inside only leads to other negative consequences. Own your grief!

Dear Lord, you know full well the losses your people have suffered. You alone know the depth of disappointment and pain they have felt and do feel. Embrace your people today with your love. Cause them to know your presence and power. Lift them from the doldrums of self-pity and depression and give them space to grieve their losses in a healthy productive way. Send around them sisters and brothers that will sit and be present with them. Bring them healing and wholeness so that today they will begin to see hope beyond their circumstances and have a far better day, in Jesus’ name. Amen.