1“I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.”
Have you ever felt compelled to speak out, to raise your voice because your pain was so great, the anguish of your soul overwhelming? I have, and I didn’t like it one bit. During that time I felt like no one was really listening to how much pain I was in, to the depth of despair. I felt that if someone would understand me, join me in my pain, then I would be OK. But being alone in that pain was unbearable. Job is feeling this way. His friends have come to help, but they are being no help. They are just pushing Job further into despair with their finger-pointing. So Job lashes back, he speaks out. His words are to his friends, be he is hoping the LORD is listening in on the conversation. He is really struggling with his relationship with God. He wonders how the injustice he is experiencing fits into the character of God. And in his pain he speaks. He poetically talks about God making him in the womb and then says that because of his current pain, it would have been better if he had not been born. He is saying that the joys he has had in life are now outweighed by the current pain. He used to enjoy the ride, but he is ready to get off the bus. It is OK to voice what we are really feeling, especially when we are doing it knowing that the LORD is listening in on our conversation. He knows how we feel anyway, and He wants us to bring all of us into His presence. Joys and sorrows, victories and disappointments. Bring them all to Him. Some of our friends don’t want to hear the downsides of life, but the LORD always wants to hear them, to be present with us in them. Some friends get tired of our ‘complaining’, but the LORD is compassionate and patient. He will not get tired of our struggles.