Job 30 – Joy comes in the morning

In the last chapter, we saw how Job described his former state where he was flourishing. His relationship with God and friends were intact. He had the means to help the poor and the needy. In Job 30, he described the reversal of his condition. He painted a portrait of his isolated and degraded state. In pathetic mood, Job talked about the abject state of his life. He had never felt do defeated and lost. Once he was rich, respected, and blessed with plenty of children, property and stocks. He was in total favor with God as well as man. Job 30 tells us how woefully he had fallen!

We see several things Job said of his condition in this chapter. In verses 1-10, he saw himself the scorn of men. In these verses he tells us that even those younger than him despised him. Verse 11 tells us that he felt afflicted by God. It was as if he was surrounded by terrors and his body was inflicted with multiple unbearable pains. In verses 19-20, he felt cast off by God who had turned a deaf ear toward his plea. Death seemed to be waiting at the wing and he had nothing to look forward to.

Thankfully, we live with the knowledge of the promises of God in the New Testament. Christ, in His suffering and death, took our guilty place. He had come that we might live life more abundantly. Without a doubt, without divine help none of us would be able to bear the burden of any affliction, However, we learn that it is utterly foolish to glory in our strength and status because they can be decimated and become dust and ashes in an instance. Whatever life experience brings us, we must never allow the negative ones, especially the tragic moments, to re-configurate, mar or pervert the image of our marvelous God. We must take time to contemplate our journey in life and to keep on charting our course and align it with His purpose and will for us. We must never allow the hard experiences of life to cause us to lead a complaining and grumbling life, to malign against our faithful God. We can be assured that in Christ, our mourning will be turned into dancing, and sorrow into joy. Here is an assuring word from Psalm 30:5, “For His anger is but for a moment, His favour is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.”