Sunday Sermon October 9, 2005

Job 42:1-6 “Suffering for What”

I do not like the book of Job.
Job calls for my attention…asks for my consideration… questions my priorities.

In a world where peaceful, grace filled days define our level of success;
Job asks me to bite down on the leather strap,
to face into the pain,
and look honestly at the evil surrounding us.

I struggle with this book of Job.
I think we all speculate: if Go is so powerful, then why is evil so prevalent in our lives.

Job was very much like a typical Educated North American, Married, Family, Good Job, House. Job has everything, and then loses everything. Everything!
As one disaster follows the next he asks the question, “Why is this happening?“

His wife and his friends are quiet for a time and then one by one they all offer that Job must have done something to deserve this catastrophic calamity.
Simply put they all tell him the same thing:
“Job you must have sinned, therefore God is punishing you.”

However, Job has not sinned and he knows it. He is angry and inquires of God, Demands of God!!
“If I am guilty, name my sin.” All the while Job offers his innocence before God.

What would your friends say if tomorrow, your life just completely fell apart?
What would your wife say to you, if you lost everything in a matter of days?
What would you think of yourself, say to yourself?

Even if you knew you were not to blame?
Who to Blame? Got to blame somebody?
Can things go bad in our society today and not have somebody be at fault?
We are so into blaming and finding fault; Interesting; so were Job’s friends.


We are want to manufacture our lives. We attempt to discover and then direct the minute details of every hour with a manic precision. Our days are frenzied. Even our rest is deemed “unproductive.” When life gets too hot; we turn to fantasy (now called reality) to find relief.

But there I go: offering up the blame game. Blaming, finding someone at fault, is so deep into our culture that we often do not even recognize it. Nothing ever seems to be our fault.

And yet just like Job, every so often, there is no fault. Sometimes stuff just seems to happen (Like the weather, (two old boys: man on moon messes up weather)) and like Job we turn to God for answers.

Well God we are listening, How about Katrina, Rita, 9-11, Vietnam, Hitler, or something simple like death for that matter, or how about the death of a child, young mother, drug addict, Why is anyone ever addicted to drugs. Are they guilty of something? Is everybody guilty?

I suggest the opposite of blame is trust.

Trust stinks, cause you don’t get to blame anybody. That is why it is so rare.
Consider whatever it is you are going through right now.
Now think what this mess would be like if you were suddenly, magically able to trust.

Maybe you would need to trust your spouse, or your child, or your doctor, and how about God!!

We are so used to controlling and manufacturing our lives that we do not believe in anything but our own power to make change in the world around us.

Chariton wrote, “ So long as you hold on to even a little hope of achieving something by your own powers, the Lord does not interfere.”
As if God says to us, “Think you can do it by yourself? Go ahead!!”

Trust, not patience, is the key to the book of Job.
Trusting God in the midst of storms and disasters really calls everything into question.
What do we believe about God?

“Trust Me,” is God’s word to Job, “Trust Me.”
“Trust Me,” is God’s word to us, “Trust Me.”

Trusting God is not easy,

When disaster strikes we generally fall back into one of two responses.
Free Will Defense: God allows evil in order to protect free will.
God becomes author/supporter of evil. Nursing home deaths??
Mystery Defense: God’s purposes are hidden and there must be some good reason for evil
God becomes distant and uninvolved. God does not matter at all.

Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zolla Neal Hurston
Young back woman from Florida at turn of last century, her life, her struggles.
She accepts and trusts and lives.
All the time watching God. Trusting, heroic spirit.

Trust Me – How?
We believe God has conquered evil and death through Jesus Christ.
We understand our society and our position cause this “Trusting” to be more difficult.
We believe what will be is glorious compared to anything we experience today.

To Trust God is the key to Job
Trusting God is the key to our lives, eternal lives.

Job 42.2 “I Know My Redeemer Lives.”