Silas
Beloved of All
Your honest prayer has been heard, and the pain you describe of having nowhere to go during the day in the cold, of losing work and feeling the hurt of being out with no place to rest or study, matters deeply to the Lord.
The story of Job speaks directly to this kind of season. That book stands at the beginning of the poetry section of Scripture and is among the oldest writings we have, reaching back perhaps to the time of Abraham. Though cultures and times have changed greatly since then, the deepest problems Job faced are still our problems today, and the needs he voiced are still the needs within every human heart.
What is striking about Job is the background we are given that he himself could not see. He was a man of integrity who loved God and turned away from evil, and God Himself testified to that character. At the same time, the adversary had been watching him closely, studying him and forming a view of him, claiming that Job only trusted God because God had placed a hedge of blessing and protection around him. The adversary asked permission to strip those blessings away, predicting Job would then turn against God.
Job did not know any of this. He only knew sudden loss, confusion and physical and emotional suffering, and he cried out without understanding why. Three friends came to comfort him, but they did not comfort him at all. They tried to explain his suffering by insisting God is always fair in the way they defined fairness, so Job must have done something wrong, must be hiding sin or hypocrisy, and should simply get right with God to have everything restored. Their counsel only added to his burden, and in the end God corrected them.
There are two comforts in this for you. First, God records Job's honest cries even when Job spoke out of grief and confusion, not out of settled doctrine. The Bible faithfully quotes his laments to show that God can bear our honest questions and pain. You do not need to have perfect words or understanding to come to Him. He hears the simple cry, help me, Jesus.
Second, what happened to Job shows that God can be at work even when it feels as though He has withdrawn. Job felt forsaken and could not trace God's hand, yet God had not abandoned him. The same is true for you in this winter of being without work, without a quiet place to sit and read, with a library that is overcrowded and no means for cafes, and a house that is not a refuge in the daytime. The Lord sees the barriers you face in returning to work and the daily ache of having no sheltered place to be.
We will not repeat the mistake of Job's friends by suggesting your hardship proves some hidden failure on your part. Instead we pray that God, who saw Job's upright heart and who sees yours, will provide what you need each day. May He open a warm and quiet place for you to rest, read and study, provide for your daily bread, and make a way through the barriers to steady work again. May He guard your heart from discouragement and remind you that your value to Him is not based on prosperity or employment, but on His love shown in Jesus Christ, who alone is the one who can stand between God and us and bring us near.
Father, in the name of Jesus, look with compassion on this dear one who is cold and weary and out of work. Provide shelter and warmth today, a safe place to sit, and open doors for honest work. Give strength for each day, peace in the waiting, and the assurance that You are near and at work even when You feel far away. Sustain and keep and provide, and draw this heart ever closer to You. Amen.
The story of Job speaks directly to this kind of season. That book stands at the beginning of the poetry section of Scripture and is among the oldest writings we have, reaching back perhaps to the time of Abraham. Though cultures and times have changed greatly since then, the deepest problems Job faced are still our problems today, and the needs he voiced are still the needs within every human heart.
What is striking about Job is the background we are given that he himself could not see. He was a man of integrity who loved God and turned away from evil, and God Himself testified to that character. At the same time, the adversary had been watching him closely, studying him and forming a view of him, claiming that Job only trusted God because God had placed a hedge of blessing and protection around him. The adversary asked permission to strip those blessings away, predicting Job would then turn against God.
Job did not know any of this. He only knew sudden loss, confusion and physical and emotional suffering, and he cried out without understanding why. Three friends came to comfort him, but they did not comfort him at all. They tried to explain his suffering by insisting God is always fair in the way they defined fairness, so Job must have done something wrong, must be hiding sin or hypocrisy, and should simply get right with God to have everything restored. Their counsel only added to his burden, and in the end God corrected them.
There are two comforts in this for you. First, God records Job's honest cries even when Job spoke out of grief and confusion, not out of settled doctrine. The Bible faithfully quotes his laments to show that God can bear our honest questions and pain. You do not need to have perfect words or understanding to come to Him. He hears the simple cry, help me, Jesus.
Second, what happened to Job shows that God can be at work even when it feels as though He has withdrawn. Job felt forsaken and could not trace God's hand, yet God had not abandoned him. The same is true for you in this winter of being without work, without a quiet place to sit and read, with a library that is overcrowded and no means for cafes, and a house that is not a refuge in the daytime. The Lord sees the barriers you face in returning to work and the daily ache of having no sheltered place to be.
We will not repeat the mistake of Job's friends by suggesting your hardship proves some hidden failure on your part. Instead we pray that God, who saw Job's upright heart and who sees yours, will provide what you need each day. May He open a warm and quiet place for you to rest, read and study, provide for your daily bread, and make a way through the barriers to steady work again. May He guard your heart from discouragement and remind you that your value to Him is not based on prosperity or employment, but on His love shown in Jesus Christ, who alone is the one who can stand between God and us and bring us near.
Father, in the name of Jesus, look with compassion on this dear one who is cold and weary and out of work. Provide shelter and warmth today, a safe place to sit, and open doors for honest work. Give strength for each day, peace in the waiting, and the assurance that You are near and at work even when You feel far away. Sustain and keep and provide, and draw this heart ever closer to You. Amen.
