December 27, 2012 Turn On the Light

Turn On the Light! Job 3:1-5 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 He said: 3 “May the day of my birth perishes, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is born!’ 4 That day — may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it. 5 May darkness and deep shadow claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm its light. HAVE YOU ever felt this way? Your mind, heart and soul wrapped in a cloud of hurt and despair, depressed and hopeless? Life’s circumstances can get that way too quickly, can’t they? You can have a very difficult time seeing out of the cloud, can’t you? As Job lives in the darkness that has come into his life through the deaths of his children, the loss of his wealth and his health, he feels God has put a hedge of darkness around him. He says, in verse 26 “I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” His emotions are a mess. What will he do? The story of Job is the story of a man who works through his grief, despair and depression to see that God really is waiting to help him. Job will assess his circumstances. His friends will accuse him of doing wrong and offer advice. Job will go to God with the intention to tell God why he doesn’t deserve all these problems. In the end, the light of God’s holiness and love will turn on in Job’s heart. He will turn from his pain to see God’s wonder and majesty. He will repent, breathe out his sadness and despair to God, and he will walk out of his dark, depressive cloud into the light of life in God. It’s True! God is bigger than life’s dark clouds.