Job 19:13-27

It's a Matter of Faith---I Don't Want to Give Thanks

Life just isn't fair.  How many of us here today have used that phrase when confronted by a young child or a teenager who is demanding to be treated by their definition of fairness.  We use that phrase to help prepare our children for the inevitable fact that life is full of ups and downs and we need to learn to deal with the downs when they come our way.  Some of those downs come because of our own stupidity, like the day described in this song.

            Some of those downs come because of things others do to us.  Like a friend letting us down, not getting a job or promotion at work that you know you deserve, seeing others given awards for relatively minor contributions to society when you have sacrificed in anonymity, facing a bout of sickness, troubles at work, living with two year old and teenager children.  You know the normal down points in life.  We try to let our children know that things will happen to us that we just don't deserve and we need to hang in there and make the most of it.

            But then there are those people leave us wondering "what did they ever do to deserve what happened to them?"  Like a dear friend of mine who is one of the kindest and nicest people you would want to meet.  I count it an honor to know him and his wife, let alone to be thought of as his friend.  He has a son who refuses to talk to him.  A year and a half ago, he shared with me what happened the last time he had tried to contact his son, who is living in another country.  He said that when he called, his son answered, and after greetings were exchanged, the son asked who is this.  My friend replied, "It's your dad."  Click.  The son simply hung up the phone.  There are no words to describe the pain that the man felt.

            Or like Thomas and Elizabeth Mc Millan who are buried near the street, who saw six of his seven children die before they reached their 21st birthday.

            And then there are those who leave us wondering how in the world do they carry on with life, like Mary Verghese.

            Mary Verghese had dedicated her life to God's service and she was looking forward to a life full of service and meaning.  She had completed medical school and had begun her residency in India with Dr. Paul Brand, a pioneer in leprosy research and treatment.  She was preparing to spend her life fulfilling Christ's instruction in Matthew 25, to care for the "least of these."  These people truly were.  They were outcasts.  How better could she spend her life? 

            Mary showed great promise as a doctor and everything was progressing well in her work.  One afternoon, while she was riding in a station wagon, the young driver, impatient with the bus that was poking along in front of him, pulled out to pass.  When he saw the on coming car, he tried to step on the brake and accidentally stepped on the gas pedal.  The car veered off of a bridge and down a steep embankment.  It was at the bottom of this embankment that all of Mary's dreams were destroyed.  She had a deep gash that ran from her cheek to her chin and her legs lay useless. 

            The next few months were pure torture.  Mary lay in a hospital bed, in traction, sweating through the 110-degree days asking why?  Why did this happen to her?  What had she done?  Why was God not healing her?  Why had God forsaken her?  Then despair set in.

            For Mary the event that I have just described must have shaken the foundations of her life and her faith in God.  You and I looking from the outside might ask could she go on with life after so much had been taken away from her?  Could she believe in God any more?  Is there anything that could see her through?

            In our passage we find Job in a very similar condition.  Job had been sitting on the "top of the world."  He had wealth beyond compare.  He was so wealthy that his ten children did not have to work, but spent their days inviting each other to feasts at each other's homes.  Jobs servants took care of all of the daily toil, which left Job free to spend a lot of time in worship of God and to offer sacrifices on behalf of his children.  Life was as good as it could get.

            Then disaster struck.  Job received news that all of his livestock and many of his servants had either been stolen, or killed by marauders and lightning.  Right on the heels of that, news came that all of his children, who had been feasting at the older brothers house, had been killed in a storm that blew the house over.  Then to top it all off, Job's health went to pieces.

             In a short time, Job's life was reduced to sitting in a pile of ashes in both physical and emotional agony.  When we reach chapter 19, we find Job trying to explain to his friends, for the sixth time, the pain and agony that fills his days.

            His friends had come to be supportive to Job, but were unable to understand what he was going through.  And Job was crying out to be heard. 

            Job was confused about why this had happened to him. - Back then Prosperous = Good and trouble = bad.  When we ask why me, often times underneath it lies that question, what have I done to deserve this.  I know, I have asked that question before, even though my life has been relatively disaster free.  Job wanted an answer from God why he was being punished.  He simply could not understand why this entire calamity had befallen him.

            Job found no comfort in his friends. - They were convinced that all of this was happening to Job because of his sin.  The were like the woman that I knew at a previous church that made it her business to visit the sick so that she could tell them that the reason they were sick was because of sin in their lives.  But Job knew different.  He had already scoured his life and could not find the evil deeds that his friends were convinced were there. So, instead of being a help to Job, his friends were hurtful.

            Abandoned by his family. -  The very people that should have come to Job's aid abandoned him.  The welfare and social security system of the Hebrew community was family.  When someone got in over their heads, it was the family that was to bail them out.  If some one were to be sold into slavery, because of their debt, it was the family that was to come and "redeem" them from slavery.  But Job's family would have nothing to do with him.

            And Job did not even have his health. - He couldn't even say, at least I have my health.  To look at him was offensive to the senses.  His breath drove people away.

            But probably the most painful thing that Job endured was that he felt Abandoned by God. - He had been faithful all of his life and now when he needed God more than at any other time, he couldn't find God.  The two things that Job wanted more than anything in the world was an audience with God and to be vindicated before his friends and family. 

            Job's life had hit rock bottom. - Where could he turn?  There was no one who understood.  Everyone had forsaken him.  All that seemed to be left for him to do was to curse God and die.  Where could he turn to find hope for the future?  Where did Job find the strength to go on?

            In verses 26 and 27, Job tells us.  In spite of the abandonment that Job experienced and in spite of the anger and frustration that at times overwhelmed Job, the one place that Job was able to turn in his hour of darkest need was to the very God who he claimed had abandoned him.  I know that my redeemer lives and in the end he will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been destroyed, then from my flesh will I see God.

            In spite of all that Job had been through, the place he turned when the chips were down was to God.  He is saying I know that God is not some figment of my imagination.  My redeemer lives.  It may be now or after I die, but I know that God, my redeemer, will appear to me and give me the audience that I desire to vindicate me.

            Even at the darkest moment in Job's life, the thing that Job grabbed on to give him the strength he needed was his knowledge that God was there for him.  He was not disappointed.

            The same held true for Mary.  Her life was over, there was no one who could understand what she was going through and the more she asked why, the more depressed she became.  Finally, Mary turned to God and asked what now.  It was then that things began to change. 

            Mary began several months of painful and grueling rehab, following which, she returned to the leprosy hospital to continue her residency.  It was there that an amazing thing happened.  Not only was she able to use her medical training to care for her patients, but her very presence in the hospital caused the hopelessness and self-pity of leprosy patients to fade.  Here was someone more disabled than they were, caring for them.

            Mary is now head of the Physiotherapy School in Vellore, India.  One person who knows her says that Mary is a prime example of how trusting God to weave a new pattern in your life can make all the difference.  Mary has accomplished more with her life than if the accident had not occurred.

            That brings us back to US. There are many among us today, myself included that have found ourselves asking similar questions of our own lives.  The early loss of a parent, a spouse or a child or grandchild has brought pain and despair into our lives.  Maybe the loss of a job or severe financial difficulties or even the end of a relationship in divorce has left us with an empty useless ache inside of us.  Each day is sheer agony to face because all it holds is reminders of our loss.  We find ourselves asking the question, Why?  Some of us have had our faith shaken to its very core.  Some of us may have events like that in our future.  What do we do when our world starts to collapse around us?  What do we do when life stinks?   The message for us today from Job and Mary, is no matter what it seems like, during those times when it seems that God has abandoned us, the reality is that God has not left us.  God has given us His promise that He will not leave us.  So that even when we can't see God, like Job, we can know that God is there.

            When we find ourselves in hopeless situations, remember the truth that Job and Mary affirmed with their lives and jump.

This sermon was give on Nov. 10-11, 2012 at St. Mark Presbyterian Church.  To listen to it, click here.