“…I will not keep silent…” Job 7:11a

After his friends explained Job’s suffering as a consequence of sin, Job consistently rejected the idea. He declared he would not keep silent, or be bullied into a confession of guilt. Having personally experienced the lesson of life’s brevity through the deaths of his own children (vv. 6 – 10), Job’s new perspective allowed him to vent his sorrow without restraint, stating,

“I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” (v.11b&c)

If one is to experience the full spectrum of what life has to offer, surely venting one’s pain is part of it. How constraining it would be to bottle-up one’s deepest hurts and be prevented from releasing the God-given mechanisms for doing so. From birth, one’s first response to pain, dissatisfaction, and hunger is through the natural venting processes God gave each of us. Each of us is hard-wired to vent our feelings, yet Job’s friends chastised him for doing so after first assuming Job’s suffering was a result of some wickedness.

Job complained to his compadres, asking if he were the sea or a monster of the deep to be put under guard (v.12). In other words, if he had committed such a heinous wrong, surely it would be well known, and the consequences of his actions would be justified. Instead, Job remained true to the path of goodness, which equally justified his indignation for any accusation of impropriety.

There are times when others seek to exalt themselves by cutting down someone else. If you happen to find yourself in the middle of such, staying true to God and the strength he gives you for living is the best direction for volitional living (read Philippians 4:13). Let Job’s example provide you strength for living intentionally.

Have a blessed day…