Facing Despair

 

    Defending yourself may be required at times.  Turning the other cheek is not being a door mat.  It is letting go of things (sometimes hard things) in order to keep the peace and show God's love.  Self-defense should have the same goal.  The point is to stand up for God's creation (you) and His name, not for personal pride.

    Job is a great example of a person that can defend himself honorably while facing despair.  He pointed out how everyone goes through hard times.  That means that Christians are not excluded from suffering in the world.  We live in this world and we experience all of it just like non-believers.

    God does not choose favorite people to keep out of harms way.  All the pain in the world does hurt Him, but He will stand His course until it is time to reap.  Only then will we be truly separated from the non-believers.  He is giving us time to show His love to them.  Job was lost in his pain and could not see the big picture.  He thought when he died that existence would simply just end.

    Job was committed to God no matter how bad things had gotten for him.  It is not his fault if his friends (judges) could not understand him.  It is not his fault that they were adding onto his despair.  

    His faith did not change his circumstances.  He still was in unimaginable pain and living in a nightmare.  He should not be judged for having despair.  This kind of pain overshadows being able to think clearly.  Without a strong foundational faith, things could be very bleak.  Even with a strong faith, it could be shaken.  This is a time that will break or strengthen a person by the time it is over.

Job 14