Job 6:5-7

Summary: Job continues. Why would I make such a cry, he argues, if there wasn't something really wrong?

Response: (short one today) Working with kindergartners this year has definitely been an eye opener regarding perspective. They will wail at any inconvenience, but seldom for no reason. And God hears our cries, even when they turn out to be nothing. You have to trust me, He does. 

Job 6:1-5

Summary: Job responds to his friend Eliphaz. He begins by ascribing his unhinged talk to his immeasurable grief (sorry, that was a lot of big words. Job talked bad because he feels really bad). But he says that, even with how bad he feels, it can't compare to how much bad stuff has happened to him. He feels like God is an overpowering army.

Response: I mean, usually I feel like my misfortune is very much only my fault, but I can understand the feeling. I know Job is setting this up for more, but I do like stopping here and acknowledging that yes, you can serve God and feel pretty bad. 

[obligatory: if you have clinical depression, that is your brain needing chemicals from medication to get you functioning. That is also okay, and you should not stop taking prescriptions thinking God will take them for you. He put psychiatrists and pharmacists on this earth for His purposes too!]

Job 5:8-27

Summary: Eliphaz gets to his main point: if Job would accept that he has wronged God and submit to punishment, God would then raise him back up with just as much protection as before.

Response: The problem here is that, though Eliphaz speaks the truth, he isn't correctly applying that truth to Job, much less doing so with any sympathy. At one point he tells him his kids will be numerous, after his adult children were snuffed out all at once. Like dude read the room!

Am I like this? Do I try to "spread God's truth" with callous disregard for my brother's humanity? Lord, try me in this, and help me to grow more into who You would have me be. 

Job 5:1-7

Summary: Eliphaz continues: you can't appeal to heaven, he tells his friend Job, because that only shows how foolish and sinful you are. 

Response: Now I think I've got around his argument, though he will probably speak a bit longer. There is a difference, I think, between "all have fallen short" and "you specifically must have done something to anger God so fess up." Not that either of them had any way of knowing, but this wasn't Job's fault!

Lord, help me to persevere. Life can be difficult, but help me to rely on You, not to blame You for it.

Job 4:12-21

Summary: Job's friends Eliphaz continues, describing a scary vision. His dream stated that no human is able to match God's standard of righteousness, that people die without reason or a chance to gain wisdom. 

Response: I can see why this would be scary. I'm not sure how this helps Job? Hey man, I know your life sucks right now, just know that God thinks you're not good enough and life is meaningless. That makes you feel better, right?

And at the same time, we're getting more truth. Our works can't save us, and so many choose not to seek out God. Lord, help me to know truth but not get bogged down by just how far I am from it. Help me instead to keep running after it, pursuing You as You pursue me. 

Job 4:1-11

Summary: Job having had his say, next his friend Eliphaz speaks up. He has seen how Job has helped others and is now in need of help himself. Eliphaz posits that only wicked people perish at God's hand, and that Job should rest on the laurels of his good deeds. 

Response: Our glut of news might have many detriments, but one good aspect is knowing for sure that there is much injustice in this world, from rulers that have no right or tact for doing so to countless people trampled on by the rich and powerful. What innocent perished, Eliphaz, and what uprightness is destroyed? It numbers among the millions, every day. 

This is not how it "should" be, of course, but this is where God's people come in. It is our duty to offer help, peace, justice, even grace--to be God in the world. Not through legislation, but through action. Even just in our homes, but hopefully stretching out into the world too. 

Job 3:20-26

Summary: Job continues; fine, if the day I was born had to exist and I could not be stillborn, why can't I just die now? Why should God give life to any suffering? Job says his pain is so great that he cannot eat or rest. 

Response: Welcome to theodicy, the problem of evil, or "why does an all-powerful and loving God allow suffering?" That question "why" is the most tempting. What's lost rarely if ever seems worth what's gained. Lord, help me to trust You in all circumstances.