JOB: FINDING HOPE WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO YOU

Pastor Jonathan Falwell 

Last week, Charles revealed a Heavenly conversation which took place between God and Satan concerning a Godly man named Job. As we learned, Satan attacked Job to prove his journey with God was but a result of his blessed life. However, God allowed Satan to strip away the “things” of the world to test his faith. Through it all, Job continued to prove his trust in God regardless of the circumstances. Now, in chapter 3, we see the beginning of a dialog between friends discussing the reality of Job’s sufferings. 

Ben Gutierrez – “There are seasons when we don’t have neat answers, when we feel misunderstood, when well-meaning voices around us don’t quite get it, and when our prayers sound more like wrestling than resolution.”[I] 

1. The Reality of Our Worst Day 

Job 3:1–8 (CSB) After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born. 2He said: 

3May the day I was born perish, and the night that said, “A boy is conceived.” 4If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above not care about it, or light shine on it. 5May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it. May what darkens the day terrify it. 6If only darkness had taken that night away! May it not appear among the days of the year or be listed in the calendar. 7Yes, may that night be barren; may no joyful shout be heard in it. 8Let those who curse days condemn it, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

• After 7 days of silence in unimaginable pain, Job curses the day of his birth and wishes he didn’t even exist
• This is not a time when he wished he was dead, it is not a desire on his part for his life to end
• “When you are hurting, you may say and do a lot of things that you later regret. Job’s suffering was so great that he forgot the blessings that he and his family had enjoyed for so many years. Had he never been born, he would never have been the greatest man in the East! But pain makes us forget the joys of the past; instead, we concentrate on the hopelessness of the future”.[ii] – Warren Weirsbe
• Our circumstances in life can lead to this condition and often do when we don’t put our circumstances in His hands

Job 3:25–26 (CSB) For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. 26I cannot relax or be calm; I have no rest, for turmoil has come.

• It’s okay to hurt, it’s okay to feel pain. God allows us to bring our needs and our hurts to Him; grief is not a lack of faith, but a reality of a fallen world.
• Question we must ask: “What is the difference between abandoning God because of pain and brining pain directly to God?”[iii]
• “Our problem is that we grab for our security blanket instead of grabbing for the Savior. We ought to be using our Bible for our blanket instead of turning to other things. We need to rest upon the Word of God.”[iv] – J Vernon McGee 

2. The Reality of Our Worst Thoughts

Job 4:7–8 (CSB) Consider: Who has perished when he was innocent? Where have the honest been destroyed? 8In my experience, those who plow injustice and those who sow trouble reap the same.

• Job 4:7–9 (NLT) “Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed? 8My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same. 9A breath from God destroys them. They vanish in a blast of his anger.
• Eliphaz begins a series of arguments with Job over where he has failed. The blame game begins.
• Eliphaz makes an argument in chapters 4-5 that Job must have sin and failure in his life

• Our situation from a human perspective always leads us (and others) to believe one of two things:
  • We blew it and thus have no value
  • God blew it and we can’t trust Him
• We attempt to rationalize our problems but we fail to see that our pain is not necessarily because we have messed up or that God is not a loving God; it’s because we live in a broken world which has been broken by the destruction of sin and we are all victims to this destruction
• Vance Havner said, “God uses broken things: broken soil and broken clouds to produce grain; broken grain to produce bread; broken bread to feed our bodies. He wants our stubbornness broken into humble obedience.”[v]

3. The Reality of Our Great God

Job 5:8–27 (CSB) However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and would present my case to him. 9He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number. 10He gives rain to the earth and sends water to the fields. 11He sets the lowly on high, and mourners are lifted to safety. 12He frustrates the schemes of the crafty so that they achieve no success. 13He traps the wise in their craftiness so that the plans of the deceptive are quickly brought to an end. 14They encounter darkness by day, and they grope at noon as if it were night. 15He saves the needy from their sharp words and from the clutches of the powerful. 16So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. 17See how happy is the person whom God corrects; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty. 18For he wounds but he also bandages; he strikes, but his hands also heal. 19He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven. 20In famine he will redeem you from death, and in battle, from the power of the sword. 21You will be safe from slander and not fear destruction when it comes. 22You will laugh at destruction and hunger and not fear the land’s wild creatures. 23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. 24You will know that your tent is secure, and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home. 25You will also know that your offspring will be many and your descendants like the grass of the earth. 26You will approach the grave in full vigor, as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season. 27We have investigated this, and it is true! Hear it and understand it for yourself.

• Here, despite theological flaws in his argument, Eliphaz reminds Job of important spiritual truths on the nature of God. Regardless of Eliphaz’s inadequate counsel, he does point us to truths we must remember in times of great suffering.
• No matter the circumstance, no matter the pain; our God is good and He is always there
• Elmer Towns said, “God loves His people and takes care of them no matter where they live and no matter what their circumstances.”[vi]
• Beyond our worst days and our worst thoughts stands God’s ultimate promise: He promises peace and hope.

Five important truths for life:

1. Life’s not easy
2. It will break you if you’re not prepared
3. Being prepared has nothing to do with you or your abilities
4. Being prepared comes from our trust in God
5. God will never let you down 

[i] Ben Gutierrez, Strength for the Journey, (Lynchburg: TRBC Publication, 2026), pg. 24.

[ii] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Patient, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 22.

[iii] Ben Gutierrez, Strength for the Journey, (Lynchburg,VA: TRBC Publication, 2026), pg. 29.

[iv] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary: Poetry (Job), electronic ed., vol. 16 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), pg. 39.

[v] Vance Havner, The Speaker’s Quote Book (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997).

[vi] Elmer Towns, Edward Hindson, Illustrated Bible Survey: An Introduction, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishers, 2013).