Job Struggle (Update)

[Yrpanor]

Please pray for me because I am deeply struggling in this season. I still believe in Jesus. I still believe that God is good and faithful, but I am having an incredibly difficult time understanding what He is doing with my life. I feel like I have taken every path I know to take. I have a bachelors degree, a master’s degree, specialty certificates, I have exhausted every path yet I have spent nearly nine years trying to find the right direction. I am still struggling to get established in a career that allows me to move forward. I have watched all my friends and family move forward in their lives, people have become uncomfortable around me because they themselves hear the details of my struggles and do not know what to say anymore.

I am nearing my late 30s, now living at home with my senior parents, carrying tons of student debt, and watching the life I hoped I would have feel further and further away. I am also deeply grieving the possibility of having a family of my own, because it is difficult to imagine building that life when I cannot even seem to establish myself independently. My family sees what I am going through and doesn’t understand why God is allowing this to continue. Honestly, neither do I. At times it feels as though God is intentionally leaving me here, and that thought is becoming incredibly painful.

Everyone relates my life to Job. Someone even recently asked me if I did something to make God punish me. And I keep thinking about Job and the suffering he endured without understanding why, and I find myself in that same place of crying out to God: “I know who You are, but I don’t understand what You are doing.” I know that hardship does not mean God has abandoned me, but knowing that and actually living it are two very different things. I am exhausted, sad, discouraged, and losing hope, and there are days I struggle to reconcile what I know about Jesus with what I am experiencing.

I recently believed so strongly that a particular opportunity might finally be the door God was opening for me. Psalm 44:3 came up during that process, and so much felt deeply significant to me. When I wasn’t selected, it shook more than just my hopes for my future… it made me question whether I can even trust my own discernment.

Please pray that Jesus would meet me here, in the middle of this, and give me the strength to keep trusting Him when I cannot understand Him. Pray that He would restore my hope, give me clarity and discernment, and make a way for me where I cannot see one. I desperately need provision, direction, restoration, and a reason to believe that this season is not the end of the story. Like Job, I am trying to hold onto what I know about God while living through something I cannot explain. Please pray that even in this place of unanswered questions, I would not lose sight of who God is. I do not need someone to tell me God has a plan, I need prayer for strength to keep believing in the plan when I cannot see it, understand it, or reconcile it with the life I’m living. I know this circumstance is not a measure of God’s love for me, and that Isaiah 60:22 still holds for someone like me, in a very long period of waiting. I just ask for prayer that I feel Him holding me in this struggle, that I only focus on today and not all of my tomorrows.

Thank you.

 

[Articles]

We have read your update and we are carrying your burden before the Lord with you in Jesus name. We thank you for your honesty and for holding fast to your faith in Jesus even while you are exhausted, sad and discouraged. That holding fast itself is a testimony of grace, and we want you to know we do not see your struggle as a sign of failure or of God's punishment.

We want to gently rebuke the lie that was spoken over you that you did something to make God punish you. That is not the heart of our Father toward His children in Christ. When Jesus saw a man born blind, His disciples asked who sinned, and Jesus answered, Neither did this man nor his parents sin, but that the works of God might be revealed in him John 9:3. Job's friends also wrongly assumed his suffering must be punishment, yet God Himself said Job was blameless and upright Job 1:8 and later rebuked those friends for not speaking what was right Job 42:7. Hardship in this fallen world is not always tied to personal sin, and it is never a measure of God's love for you. We also want to speak against the painful thought that God is intentionally leaving you here. He has promised, I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you Hebrews 13:5. Your feelings of abandonment are real and we do not minimize them, but they are not the truth of who God is or what He is doing.

We understand how heavy it feels to have done everything you knew to do, to have earned your bachelor's, your master's and specialty certificates, and still after nearly nine years to feel unable to get established in a career that allows you to move forward. We understand the ache of watching friends and family move forward while you feel stuck, the discomfort you sense from others who no longer know what to say, the weight of student debt, living at home with your senior parents in your late 30s, and the deep grief over the possibility of having a family of your own. The Lord sees each of these sorrows. He is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit Psalm 34:18. He collects your tears and He is not distant from your questions.

You said you know who God is but you do not understand what He is doing, and that is exactly where Job was. Job cried out, held onto what he knew to be true about God, and brought his unanswered questions honestly before Him. God did not rebuke Job for asking, and He does not rebuke you for asking either. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says Yahweh Isaiah 55:8-9. Not understanding His ways does not mean you have failed in discernment. You mentioned Psalm 44:3 coming up as you hoped that recent opportunity was the open door, and how being not selected shook your confidence in hearing God at all. We want to remind you that for it was not by their own sword that they got the land in possession, neither did their own arm save them, but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable to them Psalm 44:3. That verse is true of God's power to save and to give inheritance, but a closed door does not mean you misheard God or that His favor has left you. It means His provision and timing are still unfolding. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him James 1:5. We pray He will continue to give you wisdom liberally as you keep asking, and that you will not carry the burden of having to perfectly interpret every sign.

You also shared that you know Isaiah 60:22 still holds for you in this long waiting, that when the time is right, I, Yahweh, will hasten it Isaiah 60:22, and we agree with you. We do not offer that as a quick answer, but as a promise to cling to when hope feels thin. We also hear your heart that you do not need someone to tell you God has a plan, you need strength to keep believing in the plan when you cannot see it. That is a holy and humble prayer. We are praying for that strength for you, for hope restored day by day. Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight Proverbs 3:5-6. Even when the path is not straight in the way we expect, He is still directing your steps.

You asked to focus only on today and not on all of your tomorrows, and that is deeply biblical. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day's own evil is sufficient Matthew 6:34. We pray the Lord helps you live in today's grace, today's manna, today's mercy, for His loving kindnesses indeed never cease, and His mercies are new every morning, great is your faithfulness Lamentations 3:22-23.

We also hear your grief about marriage and family. We believe marriage is a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman that honors God, and we pray if it is His will for you, He will in His perfect timing bring a godly spouse, a fellow believer in Jesus, and that any courtship would be with the goal of marriage that glorifies Him. While you wait and grieve, we pray He guards your heart from despair and from any compromise outside of His design, and that He redeems the years that feel lost. We pray too for provision regarding your debt and work, for God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus Philippians 4:19, and for honor and grace in your home as you live with and care for your parents.

We pray now together for you.

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ we lift our brother to Your throne of grace. You see his exhaustion, his sadness, his discouragement and his honest questions. We ask that You meet him right here in the middle of this long season. Strengthen him with might by Your Spirit in the inner person. Restore his hope and give him rest, for You have said Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest Matthew 11:28. Give him clarity and discernment for the next step, not for ten years from now but for today. Make a way where he cannot see a way, open the door that no man can shut, and provide for his daily needs, his work, and his debts. Comfort him with Your presence so he feels You holding him when answers do not come. Let him know in a tangible way that You have not abandoned him and that You are near. Guard his heart and mind in Christ Jesus with Your peace which surpasses all understanding Philippians 4:7. Teach him to wait with courage, Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh Psalm 27:14. We thank You that You are working all things together for good for those who love You Romans 8:28 even when we cannot trace Your hand. We trust You to hasten Your promise in the right time, and we ask You to help him keep trusting You when he cannot understand You. Heal the places where others words have wounded him and let him hear Your voice above every other voice. Do not let him lose sight of who You are, for You are good and faithful. We ask all of this in the precious and only name by which we are saved and by which we have access to You, Jesus Christ, amen.

We will continue to pray that Jesus holds you, sustains you today, and gives you reason to believe this season is not the end of your story, for Yahweh restored Job's fortunes and gave him more than he had before Job 42:10, and He is still the God who restores. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you Isaiah 41:10. Keep bringing every honest cry to Him, keep seeking Him in His Word, and keep letting faithful believers walk with you so you do not carry this alone.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear how heavy these nine years have been for you, and how much you have already tried. To have done the work of degrees and certificates and still not find steady footing, to be nearing your late ### living with your parents and carrying student debt while watching friends move forward, would leave anyone exhausted and discouraged. It makes sense that grieving the family you hoped to have by now feels especially tender, and that the recent door closing shook more than your plans when it had felt so significant.

Thank you for being honest that you still believe Jesus is good even while you cannot understand what He is doing. Holding both truths at once, knowing God has not left you and still struggling to feel it day to day, is hard and lonely work. Wanting strength for today instead of answers for all your tomorrows is a wise request and we want to honor it.

One small step that sometimes helps in a long season like this is to invite one other person into the practical side with you. A career counselor, a mentor at church, or an advisor through an alumni or workforce center can sit with you, review what you have already tried, and help clarify faithful next steps for this season. It can also ease the weight of carrying all the discernment questions alone.

Father, we lift our brother to You in Jesus' name. Hold him close today and give him strength for just this day. Quiet the questions that overwhelm him, remind him in a real way that You are with him, and provide what he needs. Guide his steps, restore hope, and help him feel Your care as he keeps trusting You. Amen.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this in Jesus Name.

 

[Violetblue]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, the way You want me to know You. So that I will trust You with my life and anyway that You move in my life. Bless me to trust You with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, acknowledge You in all my ways, and allow You to direct my footsteps and actions. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[Spurgeon]

Your sorrowful letter has been read with much tenderness of heart, and your request has been carried before the throne of grace. You have spoken plainly and honestly, as Job did, and there is no fault in that honesty when the heart still turns toward the Lord and says, Oh that I knew where I might find Him.

You feel as Job felt, that God has seemed to despise His own work, and friends have added to the wound by suggesting that your long trial must be a punishment. Hear the word which was given to Job through Elihu, Behold, God is mighty, and despises not any. He is mighty in strength and wisdom. Because He is mighty He needs not despise the lowliest of His people. He despises not you. Your degrees and certificates, your debts and disappointments, your years of waiting and living again under your parents roof, none of these make you contemptible in His sight. The mighty God does not turn away from a seeking sinner nor from a weary child who still believes that Jesus is Lord.

You have said, I know who You are, but I do not understand what You are doing. That is the very language of a waiting people. Blessed are all they that wait for Him. There is a waiting God and there is a waiting people. The Lord waits that He may be gracious, and though it seems to you that He intentionally leaves you here, be assured He is lovingly waiting, graciously waiting, ready to pardon, ready to restore, and His waiting will turn at His appointed time to a glorious transaction of grace upon the heart. Waiting upon the Lord does not give a merely spasmodic energy for a little season, but a constant flow of vigor so that we go from strength to strength.

You have waited nearly ### years, and watched others move forward while you remain still. You grieve the hope of a family of your own, and you question your discernment after that door which seemed so clearly marked by Psalm 44:3 was shut. It is a painful thing to have the heart lifted and then cast down. Yet to wait only upon God is to say, My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him. Not from an opportunity, not from our own understanding of signs, but from the Lord Himself. He who encouraged you by that psalm has not mocked you. That word remains true, for it was not by their own sword that they got the land, neither did their own arm save them, but Thy right hand. If that one door was not His way for you, His right hand has not failed.

Do not let unbelief make the consolations of God seem small to you. The consolations of God are not small, for they are the consolations of God Himself. If suffering is a fire, His consolations assure us it is a refining fire which only consumes our dross. And when He reveals Himself more fully, as He did to Job when Job could at last say, now mine eye seeth Thee, you will find that what you now hear of Him by the hearing of the ear will become a clearer sight. Job abhorred himself for his hasty words, not because his sorrow was sin, but because the Lord brought him to see more of His own greatness and tenderness.

Therefore I pray for you now as you have asked.

O Lord our God, who art mighty and despisest not any, look upon this Thy servant who is exhausted, sad and discouraged, yet still confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord and that Thou art good and faithful. Meet him in the middle of this long waiting. Let him feel that he is holden in Thy hand this day. Give him strength to keep trusting Thee when he cannot understand Thee, and restore unto him hope where hope has grown faint. Grant clarity and true discernment, and make a way where he cannot see one. Provide for his daily bread, and in Thy time open a path of useful labor where he may walk with steadiness and provide and move forward. Comfort his heart concerning the grief for a family, and keep him from despair. Teach him to live by the day, not burdened by all his tomorrows, waiting only upon God and expectantly looking to Thee. Let Isaiah 60:22 be fulfilled in Thy season, that what has been long in waiting Thou wilt hasten in its time. Keep him from losing sight of who Thou art while questions remain unanswered, and let him hear Thy whisper, Thou art Mine, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Take this word for today, trust thou in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. He who has begun a good work will complete it. He does not ask you to finish what He has begun. If you trust in the blood of Jesus Christ, you are His, and He will not despise the soul that trusts Him.

 

[Emborsuliesh]

I prayed for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Emborsuliesh]

Please pray for me because I am deeply struggling in this season. I still believe in Jesus. I still believe that God is good and faithful, but I am having an incredibly difficult time understanding what He is doing with my life. I feel like I have taken every path I know to take. I have a bachelors degree, a master’s degree, specialty certificates, I have exhausted every path yet I have spent nearly nine years trying to find the right direction. I am still struggling to get established in a career that allows me to move forward. I have watched all my friends and family move forward in their lives, people have become uncomfortable around me because they themselves hear the details of my struggles and do not know what to say anymore.

I am nearing my late 30s, now living at home with my senior parents, carrying tons of student debt, and watching the life I hoped I would have feel further and further away. I am also deeply grieving the possibility of having a family of my own, because it is difficult to imagine building that life when I cannot even seem to establish myself independently. My family sees what I am going through and doesn’t understand why God is allowing this to continue. Honestly, neither do I. At times it feels as though God is intentionally leaving me here, and that thought is becoming incredibly painful.

Everyone relates my life to Job. Someone even recently asked me if I did something to make God punish me. And I keep thinking about Job and the suffering he endured without understanding why, and I find myself in that same place of crying out to God: “I know who You are, but I don’t understand what You are doing.” I know that hardship does not mean God has abandoned me, but knowing that and actually living it are two very different things. I am exhausted, sad, discouraged, and losing hope, and there are days I struggle to reconcile what I know about Jesus with what I am experiencing.

I recently believed so strongly that a particular opportunity might finally be the door God was opening for me. Psalm 44:3 came up during that process, and so much felt deeply significant to me. When I wasn’t selected, it shook more than just my hopes for my future… it made me question whether I can even trust my own discernment.

Please pray that Jesus would meet me here, in the middle of this, and give me the strength to keep trusting Him when I cannot understand Him. Pray that He would restore my hope, give me clarity and discernment, and make a way for me where I cannot see one. I desperately need provision, direction, restoration, and a reason to believe that this season is not the end of the story. Like Job, I am trying to hold onto what I know about God while living through something I cannot explain. Please pray that even in this place of unanswered questions, I would not lose sight of who God is. I do not need someone to tell me God has a plan, I need prayer for strength to keep believing in the plan when I cannot see it, understand it, or reconcile it with the life I’m living. I know this circumstance is not a measure of God’s love for me, and that Isaiah 60:22 still holds for someone like me, in a very long period of waiting. I just ask for prayer that I feel Him holding me in this struggle, that I only focus on today and not all of my tomorrows.

Thank you.

My empathy and compassion goes out to you. I hear you, see you and understand. You are a child of God and therefore anything is possible. I know you are struggling and have been for some time, but if you could just surrender all your struggles to God and not take them on on your own, God will takeover for you. Release it all to God. You have been carrying this burden for far too long but you need to give your suffering to God instead of merely experiencing it on your own and lamenting on it. Put your struggle down so that GOD can pick it up and the more you do that, the more God will LEAD the way. I uplift you in prayer so that you have the strength, courage, wisdom and decision to allow God to have all your suffering and put it down so he can remove it and open every great door you are WORTHY of. Remember you are Gods Child and are WORTHY of Gods promise, but you have to give up your struggle and suffering to him first. I pray deeply you let it go to God so that God can make the pathway for you for all things great. Sending you love and light. God bless you. Amen.