Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
“I loathe my very life;
therefore I will give free rein to my complaint
and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say to God: Do not condemn me,
but tell me what charges you have against me.
Does it please you to oppress me,
to spurn the work of your hands,
while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?
Do you have eyes of flesh?
Do you see as a mortal sees?
Are your days like those of a mortal
or your years like those of a man,
that you must search out my faults
and probe after my sin—
though you know that I am not guilty
and that no one can rescue me from your hand?
“Your hands shaped me and made me.
Will you now turn and destroy me?
Remember that you molded me like clay.
Will you now turn me to dust again?
Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese,
clothe me with skin and flesh
and knit me together with bones and sinews?
You gave me life and showed me kindness,
and in your providence watched over my spirit.
“But this is what you concealed in your heart,
and I know that this was in your mind:
If I sinned, you would be watching me
and would not let my offense go unpunished.
If I am guilty—woe to me!
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,
for I am full of shame
and drowned in my affliction.
If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion
and again display your awesome power against me.
You bring new witnesses against me
and increase your anger toward me;
your forces come against me wave upon wave.
“Why then did you bring me out of the womb?
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.
If only I had never come into being,
or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!
Are not my few days almost over?
Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy
before I go to the place of no return,
to the land of gloom and deep shadow,
to the land of deepest night,
of deep shadow and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness.”
– Job 10:1-22
Devotion
Job’s friends were not the only ones to believe lies about his suffering. Job also got off track in some of his thinking. We shouldn’t be too hard on Job because he was suffering a great deal. Still, it is important to point out these misconceptions so we do not find ourselves falling into the same traps.
In this passage, Job questions God’s motives, making the assertion that perhaps God has been somehow enjoying Job’s suffering (Job 10:3). When we are facing great suffering, we need to remember that God is grieving with us. Far from taking pleasure in our pain, God enters our pain and offers to walk through it with us. After all, He is no stranger to rejection and loss. We worship a God who was willing to step into human flesh and face all of the pain and struggle that we can face (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15). He even allowed himself to become the victim of a horrific death. Whatever you are going through today, remember that your heavenly Father is feeling your pain just as deeply as you are. Invite Him into your struggle. Draw near to Him and He will walk you through it.
The Big Question
Are there any areas of pain or struggle in your life where you are not leaning on God or maybe even feel angry with Him? How can you surrender those areas to Him today?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on God’s Word.