Job 3
3 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
2 And Job spake, and said,
3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.
4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6 As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.
7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.
8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
9 Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:
10 Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.
11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?
12 Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?
13 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, which build desolate places for themselves;
15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:
16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.
17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.
19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.
20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;
21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
22 Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?
24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.
25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.
There are days too dark for the sufferer to see light. That’s where Job is as we end this chapter. Unfortunately, his so-called friends will not bring him any relief. Like Job, you may not have seen light for a long time either.
There are experiences too extreme for the hurting to maintain hope. When a person drops so low due to inner pain, it’s as if all hope is lost. That’s why Job admits his lack of ease, his absence of peace, and his deep unrest.
There are valleys too deep for the anguished to find relief. It seems, at that point, there is no reason to go on. We run out of places to look to find relief. It’s then that our minds play tricks on us, making us think that not even God cares. Wrong! Do you remember the line that Corrie ten Boom used to quote? I often call it to mind: “There is no pit so deep but that He is not deeper still.” I know, I know. Those who are deeply depressed don’t remember that and can’t reason with it. They would deny such a statement because they feel a vast distance between them and God, and it’s confusing—it’s frightening. But the good news is that God is not only there . . . He cares.
It is noteworthy that there is no blast against Job at the end of chapter 3. God doesn’t say, “Shame on you, Job.” God could handle Job’s words. He understood why he said what he said. He understands you too. Unfortunately, Job has his words on record for preachers to talk about for centuries. Yours and mine, thankfully, will hopefully remain a secret inside our cars, or in the back part of our bedrooms, or along the crashing surf, or perhaps under tall trees in a forest. God can handle it all; so let it all out. Tell Him all that’s in your heart. You never get over grief completely until you express it fully. Job didn’t hold back. And I admire him more now than when I first began the book.
Look up to find the Light.
Tell God what’s in your heart. Let it out and don’t hold back. He can handle it.
— Charles R. Swindoll
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