Job 19

Is there anything lonelier than pain? I’m not sure there is. When we know a friend or family member is going through a tough time, we reach out through texts, calls, and visits, doing our best to support them. Yet, most of the time, we must face our pain alone.

• Jim lost his wife. He kept busy, engaged in ministry, and ensured family and friends were always nearby. Yet at night, when it was dark and quiet, he would flip through the family albums and weep, alone in his sorrow.
• Susan had surgery. Her days were filled with visits from family, friends, and medical staff who seemed to constantly poke and prod her. However, the nights were the most challenging, stretching out endlessly and leaving her to confront her fears alone.
• Tom and Sarah raised their children to love Jesus to the best of their ability. Recently, their son informed them that he was walking away from the faith to pursue a gay lifestyle. Tom and Sarah pray and seek encouragement from others facing similar challenges. However, their evenings are often spent questioning how to love unconditionally while staying true to their beliefs. They frequently feel alone in their uncertainty.

Life is filled with crossroads that no one can fully understand, no one can resolve for us, and no one can carry us to the other side. There will be times in this life when we feel alone in our pain.

When the bottom fell out of Job’s life, he embarked on a solitary journey. He felt ashamed of his situation. Job had a close relationship with God and was regarded as a steadfast man of faith. But then everything changed. Job realized that he, “a just and blameless man,” had become a “laughingstock” (12:4). Everything was going well until God “broke [Job] apart” (16:12). Job reflected:

Job 16:16-17
My face is red with weeping, and on my eyelids is deep darkness, ¹⁷ although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure.

Often, when someone goes through a difficult time, friends come together to support them. There are prayer chains, meals delivered, encouraging cards, and visits that offer help and comfort. This lasts for a while, but eventually, people return to their jobs and families… their lives… while the individual continues to face their pain alone. That’s what Job experienced.

Job 19:14-19
My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me. ¹⁵ The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger; I have become a foreigner in their eyes. ¹⁶ I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer; I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy. ¹⁷ My breath is strange to my wife, and I am a stench to the children of my own mother. ¹⁸ Even young children despise me; when I rise they talk against me. ¹⁹ All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me.

Wow! That’s the cry of someone in pain and feeling lonely. Job knows that those closest to him have abandoned him. They’ve gone back to their lives and forgotten about him. He feels like a stranger in his own home. Job thinks his closest friends hate him, and everyone he loves, even his family, has turned against him. Reread the passage. Job is utterly alone in his suffering.

What’s even more revealing is that Job feels as if someone else has forgotten him. Keep in mind that this is Hebrew poetry, but listen closely to Job’s heartfelt cries in the following verses.

Job 19:6-12
Know then that God has put me in the wrong and closed his net about me. ⁷ Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered; I call for help, but there is no justice. ⁸ He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths. ⁹ He has stripped from me my glory and taken the crown from my head. ¹⁰ He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, and my hope has he pulled up like a tree. ¹¹ He has kindled his wrath against me and counts me as his adversary. ¹² His troops come on together; they have cast up their siege ramp against me and encamp around my tent.

Job sums up his situation with these words: “Surely now God has worn me out…” (16:7). I believe Job speaks for all of us! We all have moments when we feel weary, alone, and in despair. There’s no avoiding it. We can’t be around others 24/7. Even when others are near, the pain and loneliness still reside in our hearts and souls. Yet, the truth for believers is that we are never alone! God, through his Spirit, is always present with us. His Spirit testifies with our spirit that we belong to him (Rom. 8:16).

Today, if you are feeling lonely, here are four passages (there are many others) to remind you that you are never alone. I pray you are encouraged by God’s presence.

Joshua 1:9
Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 13:5-6
“…I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶ So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read Job 19
Read Job 19 and the four passages above. Note the contrast between the truth of God’s constant presence and the reality of our feelings of aloneness. 

Talking to God
Ask God to allow you to experience his presence in you. Ask him to let his truth rule over your feelings.

Have Questions?
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Last week, Craig Wolfley went to be with the Lord. Craig was a former Steeler, the color analyst for the Pittsburgh Steelers Broadcast Network, and a friend. In tribute to Craig, we re-released a podcast from a few months ago. Find it on your favorite podcast platform and share with a friend.