Job 23-24 - I’M ABANDONED!

Job 23-24 - I’M ABANDONED!

I have been speaking with a friend on the internet of late who has been saying that GOD IS HARD TO FIND. What do you do when you come to God and all you get is SILENCE, and it feels like He has completely ABANDONED YOU, like an old rusted out car wreck left to the fate of the elements? Have you ever felt like God doesn’t care about you because He doesn’t seem to want to answer your prayers or make Himself known? That’s exactly how Job feels in Job 23.

Like a creaking rusted out car door, Job is suffering to the point of groaning and just wants to present a case to God, but he can’t seem to locate God’s presence in any of his sufferings. In Job 23:3 (NLT) he says "If only I knew where to FIND GOD," He just seems SO FAR AWAY. It’s as if GOD IS HIDING.

In Job 23:15-17 it’s as if Job is trying to drive in the dark without headlights, "Darkness is all around me; thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere." Ever feel like this? I’ve been there.

Cameras in bus lanes are a nuisance! It wasn’t deliberate but I got the fine for driving into a bus lane. Why don’t the myriads of cars I see each morning who drive in a bus lane get caught? Why don’t those who DELIBERATELY do the wrong thing have to pay a fine? I’M ABANDONED! Job knows what I’m talking about! In Job 24 he says if God knows what He is doing, "Why does He pick on me instead of judging the wicked?" (Job 24:1 My translation). He says "Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers. They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures." (Job 24:2 NLT) Perhaps he is remembering when Sabeans and Chaldean raiders came and stole all his animals and killed all his farmhands and servants (Job 1:13-21).

Job himself is now a poor man and appreciates how they struggle. After the $300 fine, I know how he feels! Well not completely... Actually I have no idea! Job, more than anyone knows what they go through. He says they are used and abused, pushed around, hungry, cold, homeless, and helpless, and GOD SEEMS TO IGNORE IT ALL! In Job 24:12 he associates with those who are dying. He says "The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the wounded cry for help, yet GOD IGNORES THEIR MOANING." ABANDONED!

What about the drug dealers who drive around in their luxury cars? Job speaks about rebellious people, murderers, thieves, adulterers, cheats, who seem to GET AWAY WITH IT ALL. (They would probably drive in bus lanes too!) Human courts prosecute criminals but Job ACCUSES GOD of not doing anything! He says that EVENTUALLY their time will come but they seem to GET AWAY WITH IT in the immediate. The wicked are not judged immediately by God. He says "Can anyone claim otherwise? Who can prove me wrong?"

In Job 23:10-12 (NLT) Job says "But HE KNOWS where I am going. And when HE TESTS ME, I will come out as PURE AS GOLD. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed His ways and not turned aside. I have not departed from His commands, but have TREASURED HIS WORDS more than daily food."

FAITH is still living for God despite not being able to see Him or feel His presence or understand exactly what He is doing. Notice that GOD’S WORD is the only thing that seems to be sustaining Job at this time. When the tough times come and God seems far away, if I ABANDON HIS TRUTH then I am truly abandoned!

In Job 23:13 (NLT) Job says "Whatever He wants