There have been two times in my life when I found myself screaming at God. In both cases, I was mad, I was screaming why, but not to the extent that we see Job here complaining:
“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or a sea monster,
that you set a guard over me?
13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
my couch will ease my complaint,’
14 then you scare me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
15 so that I would choose strangling
and death rather than my bones.
16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.
17 What is man, that you make so much of him,
and that you set your heart on him,
18 visit him every morning
and test him every moment?
19 How long will you not look away from me,
nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?
20 If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? [Wow! Job is upset!]
Why have you made me your mark?
Why have I become a burden to you?
21 Why do you not pardon my transgression
and take away my iniquity?
For now I shall lie in the earth;
you will seek me, but I shall not be.”
(Job 7:11-21)
Now, certainly my life was never in the state of Jobs. But, if I had let verse 20 out of my lips, I would be ducking for sure!
One of the things that I have learned to love from the Bible is its unvarnished honesty. These words are most shocking, but also most genuine.
In a way, it seems to give us permission go be completely honest with God in our feelings. Do we think that by not speaking our feelings that God is not aware of them? Is this vociferous complaining perhaps the most honest thing we can do, and therefore the precursor to a more full, and honest relationship with God?
What do you think?
