"A Theology of Despair" July 30 Readings: Job 9-10, Acts 22:22–23:11, Psalm 89:14–20, Proverbs 19:3–4

 

 Through the Bible in 2021

Bible Readings:  Job 9-10, Acts 22:22–23:11, Psalm 89:14–20, Proverbs 19:3–4  

Daily Devotional: A Theology of Despair 

Job 9 is the beginning of a turn for Job in his verbal sparring with his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. At first, he had been too overwhelmed with grief to say anything and for seven days they sat in silence with him. Then, Job spoke, crying out to God in anguish, confusion, and grief. Instead of simply expressing sympathy and compassion, his friends took the training wheels off their theologies and tried to straighten him out. Theology is great, but bad theology is one of the most destructive forces on earth! The gist of their view is that God is a righteous God and if all these things happened to him, it must be his fault. Repent and God will forgive you, Job, they have said, and will say time and again.

In chapter 9, Job begins to react negatively to their views and fight back. Each time he speaks, each time he responds to their judgment, he gets a little more strident, a little more angry, a little more confused - despair begins to overwhelm him. Chapter 9 gives several hints of the pain he is going through and what he is feeling as a result of his friends' words. Instead of leading him into the arms of a loving God, they added to his suffering.

Let us examine some of what Job was thinking and feeling in his despair. His circumstances (not to mention his friends' bad advice) were leading him to believe that life was unfair

First, he had begun to believe that there was no justice in the world. His friends said that God was just and so there must have been sin in his life that caused his problems. Job knew that he, while not perfect, had committed no sins so extreme that these terrible things were justified.

Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;

    I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.  Job 9:15

I may be in the right, but God is not interested in giving me justice! I can beg for mercy, but God isn't going to listen to my appeal, to my case. 

Second, Job was starting to believe that God was distant, unfeeling and unconcerned with his plight. 

If I summoned him and he answered me,

    I would not believe that he was listening to my voice. Job 9:16

Why bother? God's not going to listen to me. I'm small and insignificant; why would he bother to take the time to hear my cries? Job knew that God was sovereign and that God was holy, but he seemed to be unaware that God was also imminent, a God who revealed himself and entered into a relationship with us. 

Next, Job was actually beginning to believe that God was cruel, angry, capricious and punitive. 

For he crushes me with a tempest

    and multiplies my wounds without cause;

he will not let me get my breath,

    but fills me with bitterness. Job 9:17-18

His view of God was warped - God was a heavenly bully who seemed to enjoy pushing Job around, battering him and multiplying his wounds; relentless in his bitter wrath. Christian, God is not mad at you. He loves you; he is working to bring his best into your life. Even non-believers are recipients of God's mercy here in this world. Yes, this sinful world can be tragic and God does sometimes break in with judgment. But when you begin to see God's wrath and anger as his primary characteristics, you are not understanding the God of heaven. 

When your view of God is that warped, it is not surprising that despair and meaninglessness seem to take over. 

I am blameless; I regard not myself;

    I loathe my life.

It is all one; therefore I say,

    ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

When disaster brings sudden death,

    he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. Job 9:21-23

Can you hear the hopelessness in his tone? I don't care about my own life! You even see self-destructive ideas creeping in - I renounce my life. "It is all the same," he says. There's no point in any of it. No point in doing good, in obeying God, in living for him. All this can still come crashing down on you. It's just not worth it. God doesn't care. Despair drips from his words.

It is natural for people to go through feelings like this in the middle of suffering. That natural response is made worse when people like Job's friends come along, attempting to force their twisted views of God on those who are hurting.

Our God is both holy and loving. Today, many have forgotten his holiness and think his love is permissive and without standards - as if God encourages us just to do whatever we feel like doing. But in the middle of suffering, sometimes we begin to forget the love of God entirely and believe that God is angry and cruel. He is not. Everything he does, all that he allows to happen to us is part of his purposes to glorify himself, redeem a people and transform them to be like Christ. God is love and God is good.

Don't let your circumstances lie to you. Don't believe the whispers that you hear from the happenings and events of the world. The truth is that God loves you, even when you can't understand him, even when events seem to indicate that perhaps he does not. God is there and will never leave you.

Don't believe anything else!

Father, thank you for your faithful love, so faithful that it is still real and powerful even when I forget about it. 

Consider God's Word:

Which of the readings spoke most powerfully to you today?
Is the Spirit of God moving you to repent of something you are doing, to begin something new, or to change something about your life as a result of your readings? What?

Do you ever forget the goodness of God and allow your mind to stray to falsehood? 

What false ideas about God sometimes capture your mind? 

Do you find yourself falling into the trap of believing that God's love for you is seen in the circumstances of your life? If God loves you, things will go well. If things go wrong, he must be mad? Reflect on how the book of Job gives the lie to that theology.