“Lessons From the Whirlwind: Asking”

Scripture: Job 29:1-13; 30:16-26

Job has been in a real mess over the past two weeks. First, he loses every possession that he ever had, including his children. Then He loses his health and finds himself covered from head to foot with oozing sores. And if that weren’t bad enough, 3 friends arrive to give him comfort and encouragement and to help him through his ordeal, but the only thing they really accomplish is to drive the man to the brink of spiritual collapse.
He had answered their accusations as well as he could, considering his plight, and they continued to badger him time and time again. Job was starting to wonder if maybe, just maybe, they might be right? Had he offended his Lord? Had he been the cause of God’s apparent absence at the very time when he needed the Almighty the most?

There is a Charlie Brown cartoon strip where Lucy asks, “Why do you think we're put on earth, Charlie Brown?”
Charlie replies, “To make others happy.” [a world view of creation at best!]
Lucy says, “I don't think I'm making anyone very happy .... Of course, nobody's making me very happy either.”
Then in the final panel, Lucy screams at the top of her lungs ...
“SOMEBODY'S NOT DOING HIS JOB!”
- Homiletics On Line

Do you think that this may be how Job felt. He wasn’t happy, and no one else appeared to be happy, either. Where was God? Why had all of the joy of life been taken away?

Last week after worship, a man in the congregation asked me if I knew how long Job’s ordeal lasted. I replied that I didn’t know. Today, we get the answer. Watch for it!

Read Job 29:1-13

Months of pain and anguish!

Each time that one of the friends attacked Job’s virtue, he responded with the plea that if he could just talk to the Lord, he could get this whole mess straightened out. In Job 9:32-35, we see an example of his frustration – “If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.”

Job had not only lost all – literally all – that he had, he now felt that he had lost touch with God. He didn’t understand why, he just knew that it had happened. No flocks and herds. No servants. No children. No health. And with friends like the ones who had come to him – no friends, either. No one to intercede for him. No one to pray with him. No one to arbitrate on his behalf. No one to lean on. No one to turn to. NO ONE AND NOTHING AT ALL!
How much misery can a person endure before they just totally give up?

The Scottish preacher Dr. Arthur Gossip was famous for his inspirational messages in early 20th century Scotland. When he was 54, and at the height of his [ministry], his wife died suddenly and unexpectedly.
The first time Dr. Gossip returned to his pulpit after his wife’s death, he preached on the subject “But When Life Tumbles in, What Then?” In the sermon he said, “I do not understand this life of ours. But still less can I comprehend how people in trouble and loss and bereavement can fling away peevishly from the Christian faith. In God’s name, fling to what? Have we not lost enough without losing that too?”
- From “The Hero in Thy Soul”, by Arthur John Gossip, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1929, pg 110, as quoted in Kalas, J. Ellsworth, “When Suffering Comes”, 1988 Abingdon Press., pg27

Dr. Gossip, even in the depths of despair over his wife’s demise, even in the midst of his personal suffering, even in the anguish of his soul, couldn’t even imagine his life without faith in Almighty God. And even though Job was in an even worse condition, even though Job was distraught over not hearing God’s word for his life and couldn’t understand why, even though Job felt that for some unknown reason he had become the Lord’s enemy (Job 13:20-24), he never fell to the level of denying the presence and glory of his Lord.
But the grief would continue.

Read Job 30:16-26

He is lost in his grief and hopelessness. But he continues to call out to God, seeking some word of promise and comfort! He never stops asking – during months of torment, he continues to seek for a word – just one would be a blessing. And you never ask for help from someone who you think can’t hear you or who you think will never help.

Did God hate Job? Did God desert Job? Did God decide that this man wasn’t worth his time or effort? NO! NEVER! The promise of Deuteronomy 31:5-6 was sure and true for Job – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” NEVER!

But God wasn’t answering the calls for help. He was still with Job, but he was there silently. Job was getting a little frustrated, and his questioning was starting to become rather desperate and almost angry. But the real point here is that regardless of his tone of voice, Job never stopped asking and pleading with God! “Give me something, Lord - anything!” Job never doubted that the Lord was still there – he just didn’t understand why everything was going so badly.
And we all may have felt that same sense of silence and struggle at one time or another in our own lives - a time that we may have interpreted as abandonment by God. But in truth, a different type of question must be asked in this situation
If God was being silent, why weren’t the people of God answering loudly!
The 3 who came to Job may have thought that they were the best friends that Job could possibly have, but I doubt that we would get that same observation from the man himself. They were certainly loud, but where was their Godliness?

How about our friendship in those times of trial that our friends go through? How many times do we have to hear a person tell of their struggles before we decide that we are the ones who ought to do something about it? Or worse yet, how few times will we listen to a person’s trials before we decide to head for more pleasant surroundings? Most people want friendships to be based on collective happiness, not on shared suffering. They readily admit that hospitals and nursing homes depress them, and steadfastly refuse to go there to visit – even for a friend. And yet, that is exactly what we are called to do in Matthew 25:34-46.

Jesus had quite a following as long as he was blessing and healing and feeding the masses. But as soon as his teaching began to get tough, the masses began to dwindle. In John 6:25-69, Jesus accuses the people of following him only because he has fed them. They had received something that they wanted, and the Lord knew that they just wanted more of the same. He tells them to work, not for food that will spoil, but for food that will endure forever, food that he will provide. They inquire as to what they must do to do the works of God, and Jesus tells them that the only work that must be done is to believe in the One who has been sent. He then begins his discourse regarding the Bread of Life - that he is that Bread, and that this Bread is his flesh.
And the people decide that they don’t like the message, and begin to desert him in droves. Then he turns to his disciples and asks them if they were going to leave, too? And it is our good friend Simon Peter who answers - :68-69 “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Where else can we go but to you? The work of God is for us to believe in Jesus, and to live out his plan for our lives.

That plan, though, is an unknown for most of us, and in general, we aren’t real comfortable with that concept. We believe that Jesus is Lord and Savior of the world, but aren’t very happy about being his hands and feet to this world. His followers, as we read in the scriptures, would be pretty wishy-washy when it came to their faith walk in the hard times. In their ignorance, they would constantly question his teachings; in their arrogance, they would question the faith of anyone who wasn’t part of their band; they would be anxious to serve the Master when all was going well, but when the fires began to erupt, they suddenly got cold feet. After Jesus’ arrest, Peter would deny that he ever knew him; many would run for the hills like Cleopas did; Thomas would disappear for a week, and then express grave doubts that Jesus had ever returned from the dead. The others would go into hiding, and would barely see the light of day for days on end.
And yet, they would, one day, in the not so distant future, show such great faith and trust in Christ’s call on their lives, that with great confidence, they would begin to spread and share and live the message of grace and mercy throughout the world.

And that is what the people of God have always done, and must always do. When one who is suffering calls out to God, it is seldom that the Lord will respond directly. Instead, he will send a legion of his people – whether that “legion” consists of 1 person or of many, the necessary number will be called and sent. We go in a faith that is greater than any army; we go in a faith that can overcome any trial; we go in a trust and promise that loudly proclaims “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
And that is what we must help others to understand. God may not be answering their calls in the way that is desired, but we go to stand, to serve, to love, to encourage them, until the Lord does speak the final answer – “I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)
Job would soon discover that his precious God is with him, and loves him dearly, and will prove all things to him, and we must know that this is true for our lives, too. But that’s a topic for next week.