3”May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is born!’
Have you ever wanted to just die and get it over with? Job finds himself in a circumstance where death is the best alternative. He just wants rest and peace, and all he seems to get is pain and sorrow. He has lost his children and his wealth. Even his wife has told him to curse God and die. No one seems in his corner; no one is supporting him in his time of need. He feels alone. He doesn’t even sense God’s presence with him. He longs for the suffering to stop. His sorrow is so deep he wishes he was never born. He has forgotten the joys he had with his children; all he can experience now is the sorrow. We would probably say, “Just pull the plug.” The last verse of this chapter sums up his experience: no peace, no quietness, no rest, only turmoil. Sounds like he needs an Ambien! When my physical body is in turmoil, my spirit is negatively affected as well. It is hard to keep focused on faith when you are in physical agony. Many of us would try to cheer up someone who was in this state. We would spout platitudes in an effort to get them out of this kind of funk. But that doesn’t work. When someone is in this state, they need to vent their frustrations and have people join them where they are. They won’t move out of the funk until they are ready. Is your faith strong enough to hold you if you were to go and join someone in their funk? Or do you have to have a bump-free world in order to have faith?
The Arnold Journey 