42 days with Job. Day 3 and 4.

So I missed a day yesterday, but I honestly wouldn't have been able to find a decent amount of time to really delve into chapter 3, unless I didn't get any sleep at all. The past few weeks have been...exhausting, to say the least. I have been up in the mountains, getting sick, then back down and back up to the mountains, cold weather in shorts, terrible post holiday effects, and lack of adequate sleep, among other things. Perhaps what I've just described may sound trivial, but for some reason it was a really rough time for me, both spiritually and physically. It seems only right that I most definitely continue following Job's progress since it appears more applicable to my current state of mind.

Satan says: "However, put forth Thy hand, now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse Thee to Thy face." (Job 2:5 NKJ version)

So for this section I've decided to combine chapters 3 and 4 in essence of having skipped a day I think perhaps these two chapters would go well together for comprehensive purposes.

Let's see...

"Why is light given to him who suffers, and Life to the bitter of souls;

..."

"Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden..."

Here, from Ch. 3, we read how Job basically curses the day he was born. He speaks of that day as if it were some sort of holiday to be shunned instead of celebrated. He mars the existence of his birth day to be cursed and consumed by darkness. Sounds pretty intense. It's like those people who really hate christmas. I have a friend who hates christmas with a passion, she hates christmas songs and hates seeing all the festive ads and lights in the public everywhere. To the general population it may look like this person is disturbed to not like such a "happy" day, but to her it brings pain and guilt and shame, and she'd rather not have anything to do with the day since it seems to represent something she can't deal with thinking about; Jesus. I don't blame her, because being a christian and knowing what one should and shouldn't do generally leaves ones feeling very guilty and ashamed since we all fall short of God's glory and sin everyday whether through our actions or our thoughts. However, my friend is deceived into thinking that God is not merciful and that he withholds His grace and forgiveness. It is a simple mistake of ignorance that she is led to dislike Christmas...because seriously how could anyone not like Christmas? It's about being with people you love, and if you don't have anyone you love, that's a problem right there. You should be seeking out help, because we are created beings who were meant to mingle and love and have fellowship with others. Christmas also is a day of feasting and giving. Now who doesn't like good food and presents? Please, leave me a comment if you truly hate good food and presents...and I will pray for you.

Similarly Job sort of shuns the day of his birth due to his current physical state. (Remember Satan put boils and sores all over his body from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and Job is in so much pain that he is scraping himself with a jagged piece of pottery) So Job pretty much is saying he wishes he were never born. He's hating the day he was pulled out of his mother's womb, just like my friend hates the day of Christmas. Job goes into all sorts of crazy details (leave it to someone in agonizing pain to recall the different ways one can basically destroy something) He starts talking about darkness and gloom taking that day, and the night being barren, and then forbids any joyful sound entering it. I mean, he's taking emo to the max, and I don't blame him! The guy is sitting on the ground with gaping flesh wounds covering his body for NO REASON (that he's aware of). Ring any bells? Perfect for me today. Nothing particularly bad happened to me this past week, (in fact I had a really good time at the mountains and at all the parties I went to) but today it just hit me like sledge hammer, that I couldn't help but curse the weeks prior for leading up to such a day as this. I felt fat and incompetent, lazy and unorganized, unprepared and mean. I felt like everyone was stretching me so thin that I no longer knew who was who and where I was. I still don't really have a reason for being in the foul state of mind that I am today, but after re-directing my focus a little (thanks to Job) I'm able to gather a bit of my senses and realize that sometimes bad things happen and we have no idea why, but the bottom line is that we are not God. Who knows, perhaps God has found something very unique about one of us and is bragging about us to Satan, and that's why Satan has been trying to squash our credit in front of God ... after all it is Satan's goal to show -up God in any way possible. So I guess letting the worst of things get the best of me is exactly what I shouldn't do if I'm to properly represent the Almighty Creator, especially if He finds me something useful in or about me. So i'll continue scraping the flesh off my skin with my jagged knife, and never letting a word of deceit leave my lips, like blaming God for any of it.

Ch. 4.

"Is not your fear of God your confidence,

and the integrity of your ways your hope?...

He puts no trust even in His servants;

And against His angels He charges error.

How much more those who dwell in houses of clay."

Job's friend finally speaks up after a long week of silence, and although the words bear truth, they don't bear much wisdom in consoling Job. I don't know, call me crazy but I think it would have been best if his friends were just silent and simply THERE instead of yapping about how Job should realize he probably did something wrong and was getting justly punished for it. Since that was NOT THE CASE, you can imagine how P-O'd Job must've been the moment his friend finished telling him off with the "holier than thou" speech (as Job is oozing a puddle of blood and flesh, half self-inflicted) The man is clearly not accusing God, however he also knows in his heart that he did nothing to deserve this (which is more than I can say for myself, but I'm sure that's preaching to the choir) and then all of a sudden his friends sit there pointing fingers and laying an unknown cause for the effect. If there's one thing I can't stand about a person's character it's the inclination to jump to conclusions. Someone who knows nothing yet starts spewing comments here and there with no evidence, and just makes your mood more worse because you hate being in the same room sharing the same air with someone who is so transparently clueless. Perhaps this chapter caught me on my off day, since I'm not feeling particularly charitable, but had I been Job I would have starting threatening the guy with my broken pottery piece to get the flip out of my sight. Definitely not to be called back for a reunion any time soon too. Granted the guy did say a "vision" in the night appeared before him supporting the speech he gave, but that's no reason to assume so much in such a delicate situation. Times of trial and suffering need to be handled with the utmost care and precision to avoid misunderstanding and more pain.

Word to the people who are suffering or feeling absolutely clueless as to why God might put them in the sh*tty situations they are in, seek out your friends wisely... a word spoken wisely can soothe over an open sore, but a word less substantial can further rip your wounds...and we all know which friends are more likely to be the latter and the former.

I don't have enough time to go into more detail or exploration as I would like to, but those were some of the main ideas that came to mind after a brief overview of chapters 3 and 4.

Au Revoir for the night!