I was reading the book of Job a while ago and I was stunned by how many questions Job’s friends asked him. They asked him all types of questions ranging from:
- “can you solve the mysteries of God?” ( Job 11:7a)
- To “are you the first man who was born?” (Job 15:7)
- And then to “do you think we are stupid?” (Job 18:3b, LOL!)
For someone like Job experiencing insurmountable suffering, their questions weren’t helpful, but there’s a few lessons that can be pulled from their questions.
If you’re familiar with the story of Job, you know how he faced extreme suffering and lost all of his possessions and ten children. On top of that, he was struck with a terrible skin condition that created boils all over his body so bad that he had to use a broken piece of pottery to scrape his skin and sit down. Three of Job’s friends came to comfort him through this tough season, but they each had a case to make to explain why Job might be suffering. In chapter 15, his friend Eliphaz asks Job: “Is God’s comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough? What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision?” (v.11-12)
If I was Job, I would’ve retorted and said what do you mean is God’s comfort too little for me? What has weakened my vision….hello I’m literally covered in boils?! But if we pause for a moment, these four questions carry some lessons. Eliphaz is challenging what Job believes about God and what has gotten in the way of Job’s faith in God. Sometimes in our suffering hard questions like these are worth asking ourselves, because after all God is not afraid of the questions we wrestle with in our hearts.
So let’s pause and look at the meaning of each question.
The first question is about God’s comfort: Is God’s comfort too little for you?
Although Job may have felt alone in his suffering, he wasn’t actually alone. He still had a wife, and he had three friends who traveled to see him and stay with him for seven full days. Not 24 hours, but 168 hours. Do you have a friend who’s sat down with you for that extent of time in complete silence? To Job this may not have looked like God’s way of comforting him, but it was. God even allowed a fourth friend, Elihu, to come and point Job back to seeing God’s greatness so that Job could see that regardless of his suffering, God was still God. His casemaking may have come off a bit harsh, but the ultimate message was necessary so that Job wouldn’t lose sight of who God was.
God was present with Job in his suffering. This is the same God who made a covenantal promise back in Deuteronomy 31:8 that He will never leave His people nor forsake them. In hard seasons it may not always feel like God is with us, but He is because His Word says so. If we’d pause to embrace His presence and look around at His daily provision, we’d see that His ways of comforting us does exist and that it is more than enough.
The second question is about the value of God’s Word: Is His gentle Word not enough?
This question makes me think about moments where I have to calm my toddler down after he’s fallen and starts crying. I gently tell him “you’re okay, you’re okay” and I have to say it a few times before he actually believes me and sees that he’s okay. I imagine God lovingly telling us the same thing during difficult seasons as the Great Father He is, you’re going to be okay, you’re going to be okay. Numbers 23:19 says “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” (NLT). His Word is more than enough to hold us as an anchor during challenging seasons. And if we ever reach a point where it seems like His Word isn’t enough, then something is wrong. This takes us to Eliphaz’ third question.
Eliphaz’ next question asks: What has taken away your reason?
When there is a shift in how we value God’s Word, it means something else is tugging at the place God’s Word should hold in our hearts. If the place of God’s Word in your heart is being challenged, then it’s worth asking yourself this same question Eliphaz asked Job. In other versions of the verse, it says “why does your heart carry you away?” and in my version I would say “why have you let life weigh you down so bad that unbelief has creeped into your heart?”
It’s important to remember the power of God’s Word. Scripture says that God holds His Word above His own name (Psalm 138:2), that His Word is alive and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It is the very breath of God written out to refresh and give life to our souls. Don’t lose sight of who God is and don’t lose sight of the power in His Word.
This takes us to Eliphaz’ last question to Job: what has weakened your vision?
Here he’s questioning what Job has been looking at lately. Our eyes are powerful gates that shape our faith in God. Matthew 6:22-23 says “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness….”(NLT).
What you see and how you see life’s circumstances matter. If your vision is weak, then so is your faith. This reminds me of Galatians 5:7 “You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?” (NLT). Prior to this hard season, Job had a lot going for him. He owned countless properties, he was the richest man in the land of Uz, he was noble amongst city leaders, he even described his prime days as God’s friendship being felt in his home (Job 29:4). He was running his race well, but then a hard season came and it distracted him from who he knew God to be. It weakened his vision on God and his vision of God.
When your vision starts weakening, it’s time to reset and set your gaze back on Jesus through His Word. When your faith starts to shake, it’s time to reset and set your gaze back on Jesus through His Word. Eliphaz’ questions was a way of him sounding an alarm to wake Job up from getting distracted and from drifting away from his faith in God. This is the same Job who earlier told his wife in chapter 2 “should we only accept good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” (v.10). He knew who God was, but his vision had just gotten a little weak.
If you resonate with any of this, I want to encourage you to keep going. Keep having faith. Keep reading and believing God’s Word. Keep tarrying in the place of prayer and standing on His Word, because in just a little while, what’s testing you now, will soon become your testimony. Through all his suffering, Job eventually testified “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes” ( Job 42:5, NLT). And maybe that was the whole point, to take Job from one level of just hearing about God, to now experiencing Him in a whole new way.
Just like God turned Job’s story around, He’s more than able to turn yours, too. Take His Word for it.
I’ll end with this scripture in Hebrews 10:23 and 35-36:
“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise” (v.23, NLT)
“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised” (v.35-36, NLT).
Until next time,
Beautyoluwa
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