Job 7:1-21 - When Depression and Suffering Collide (Session 11)

In this episode of Reasoning Through the Bible, Job 7 is examined verse by verse as Job continues his lament from the depths of suffering, sleeplessness, despair, and emotional exhaustion. This study explores what happens when a person feels purposeless, when life seems like nothing more than pain, and when God appears distant in the middle of tragedy. Job’s words are honest and deeply human, but they also reveal the danger of wrongly blaming God for suffering.

This Bible study is especially helpful for listeners searching for teaching on Job 7, purpose in suffering, depression in the Bible, why God feels distant, Christian suffering, trusting God in pain, and God’s sovereignty in tragedy. Job 7 offers practical encouragement for believers who feel overwhelmed, reminding them that God still has a purpose even when life feels meaningless.

Transcript

Job’s Worthless Months And Sleepless Nights

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Medical professionals tell us that when people have meaning and they have purpose in life, they have a reason to get up in the morning, then they're healthier, their attitude is better, and they accomplish more. By contrast, exactly the opposite is true. When people feel I have no reason for life, there's no purpose for my existence, then they're more down emotionally and even physically, they get down and they don't live as long. Well, today we're going to meet a man in the Old Testament, Job, who feels like there is no purpose for his existence. But the good news is that God always has a purpose for us as long as we're in his family. We're reasoning through the book of Job. If you have your copy of the Bible, turn there. If you've been following us, we've learned that God approached Satan at the beginning. God had a reason for what he does, but he does not share this reason with us. Job doesn't see that God is in control. All Job sees is pain and suffering. He's lost his economy, he's lost all his money, he's lost his children, he's lost his health. And now his so-called friends have come along and said, Job, there must be something wrong with you. Job is responding to his friend Eliphaz. Open your Bibles to Job chapter seven, and we're going to find here Job really giving a lament. It's more of a groan about how he feels like he has no reason to exist. So, Steve, can you read the first four verses of Job chapter seven?

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Is a person not forced to labor on earth? And are his days not like the days of a hired worker? As a slave pants for the shade, and as a hired worker who eagerly awaits for his wages, so I am allotted worthless months, and nights of trouble are apportioned to me. When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise? But the night continues, and I am continually tossed till dawn.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Job here says, I have worthless months ahead of me. And he says he can't sleep at night. He goes to bed and he tosses and turns, waiting on dawn, and the dawn does not bring any relief. The night just seems to keep going on forever sometimes. All he can see is darkness and he gets no rest. So he says here, worthless months. Steve, do people sometimes feel purposeless, like there's no point in their existence? What should they do if they feel like I really have no purpose in life?

SPEAKER_01 2:59

This is somewhat of a side effect of what Joel is going through because he doesn't know when it's going to end. That's really what he's talking about here, I think, at this point. It seems to be unending. It doesn't seem like there's going to be any finality to what I'm going through. And that has a lot to do with someone's mentality as they're going through situations like this. If you have some sort of a prognosis or an expectation from the doctors or something else that this time that you're going through, it seems like it's bad right now. And it is bad, but it's only going to be for six months or a year, some sort of a time frame that you can then look forward to. You're marking off the time of when it's going to be completed. That helps your mental frame of mind as you're going through it. But when you're experiencing something like Job is, you don't know the reason why, much less how long it's going to last. So here he is, he's in the depths of despair. It's not good for his mental health, so to speak. So I think when you're in these types of situations, all you can do is just lean on God, continue to take your case to God and petition him because he knows what you're going through. Even though you might not think that he does, he does know what you're going through and he knows what the outcome is. He's going to do what's best for us in the long run and in the long term. Therefore, we should not let these types of situations get us down. I know that that's easier said than done, but it's the practical advice as we have as believers in God and Jesus Christ.

Practical Purpose Through Service And Prayer

Rotting Flesh And Life Like A Breath

SPEAKER_00 4:48

I've found that very oftentimes, not always, but very often when people feel purposeless, it's because they had expectations that they had imagined that they could accomplish. And they're the point in life where they're realizing that I'm not going to be able to accomplish this or the things that I thought I could do aren't going to turn out the way I thought. It's actually a very self-centered viewpoint. If you're a child of God, there's always a purpose for you. There's always a purpose. There's things that you can do in the kingdom that will benefit his kingdom and have eternal consequences. My friend, if you're feeling purposeless, go talk to a pastor. I can guarantee you that any church, there's always things that are needing to be done around a church. The way you have purpose is to find someone around you that is in need that you can help. That is a great purpose. And there's always people in need. God has blessed us with plenty of people around us that are in need that we can have a purpose in life. Even if you are bedridden, my friend, then you can have a great prayer ministry. Would you pray for our ministry? We need people to pray for us. We need people that can just praise God for who he is. That is a great purpose because he is worthy. What is not good is to just sit home and feel bad. If you're just sitting at home feeling bad, feeling purposeless, then my friend, it will affect your health. It will affect your emotions. And there's always someone that is in a need that you are the one that can help them. And so, my friend, a child of God always has a purpose. God always has a plan for you. As we see with Job, he has a purpose. At this point in his life, he couldn't see any reason for what he does, but his life has helped people for literally eons. As we move on through this chapter, Job is still responding to his friend Eliphaz. And in this next section, he gives a very graphic description of his condition. I'm reading now in Job 7.5. My flesh is clothed with maggots and a crust of dirt. My skin hardens and oozes. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is a mere breath. My eye will not see goodness again. The eye of him who sees me will no longer look at me. Your eyes will be on me, but I will not exist. When a cloud vanishes, it is gone. In the same way one who goes down to Sheol does not come up. He will not return to his house again, nor will his place know about him any more. Therefore, I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. This is very vivid language. It is great literature. It's very emotional. Steve, what do you think of when you hear these words?

SPEAKER_01 7:55

I think it's a continuation of Job reaching out to God and he's given a description as to what he's experiencing, but it's also a description, I think, of how he thinks God is looking at him. He seems to, in a way, complain to God and questioning why God is treating him in such a way. His life is speeding by. He mentions it's there as like a weaver shuttle, and he's lost hope of ever seeing happiness again. So again, it's just another way of him describing the depths of despair that he's in.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Very vivid language. In verse 5, he talks about his flesh literally rotting away. There were worms and maggots in it that's eating the rotten flesh and oozing. It's a very graphic, gross picture. In verse 8, he says people were not wanting to look at him. In these passages, he says Job is saying that life is swift, nothing but a breath. It's just here and it's gone. There's nothing really to look forward to. He sees his life as meaningless. Steve, to the Christian, and again, I'm talking to the Christian here of what should be the proper view of how we view our time here on earth. Do we have plenty of time or is life just but a breath?

SPEAKER_01 9:14

In the large scheme of eternity, life that we have here on earth in our fleshly bodies, unglorified bodies, is just that. It's a wisp of time. I don't think we'll really appreciate that until we get into our glorified bodies and we're living on the other side of this in eternity, in an eternal state. But yes, while we're here, we think that these 60, 70, 80, 90 years that we have here are a long period of time. But in the scheme of everything, it's very short.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

If we look at our time on earth, then time is a rather funny thing. The future is always coming, it never gets here. The past is gone. We can never do anything about it, can't get it back. All we have is right now. And right now, we should be busy about doing the Lord's work. Too many times, I think, in my life, I had health, I had a mind, I had breath in my lungs, and I could have been working for the Lord, but I wasn't. I can't fix that. It's in the past. What it can do is from here on out, I will serve the Lord. Life is indeed but a breath. It's here and it's gone. We have this few short years on earth, then we will be called to the top floor corner office, and he's going to ask, What did you do with the time that I gave you? A Christian should be diligent in doing service to the Lord while we are able. We all have gifts that he's given us. We have time that he's given us, we have talents that we have, and we should be using these for the Lord. Jesus said this: quote, we must carry out the works of him who sent me as long as it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. He said that in John 9 4. So we have to work while it is day. My friend, do you have the ability to do service for the Lord? Do you have the ability to have a prayer ministry? Do you have the ability to give to the Lord's work your time and your treasures? Then that is what he expects of us. Job realizes that life is but a breath. I imagine he's saying, if if I could just get it all back, then I would serve him. But my friend, we need to work while it is day. Job seems to think he has a terminal illness and is about to die. The question for us is this if I found out today that I had a terminal illness, how would I spend my time? How would I spend my time if I knew my time on earth was short? Well, that's the way we should be going about the Lord's business anyway, whether or not we're terminal. We should all be about doing the Lord's business, where we all have a short time left. Then in the middle of verse 7, Job says, My eye will not see goodness again. Job can't see past his tragedy. We understand this because Job is indeed in the midst of great pain. But Steve, is he correct? Is he not going to see goodness again? Or is he just not seeing the Lord's perspective?

SPEAKER_01 12:27

He's definitely not seeing the Lord's perspective because we know what the Lord's perspective is through the narrative of the story, and we know that he's going to see goodness again. Again, I don't know how to describe it any other way than he's in his depths of despair. And it's almost like he's given up on life altogether. Yet he shouldn't do that because he doesn't know for sure what's going to happen to him. He doesn't know for sure what's on the other side of this suffering that he is going through now. So I think that's another lesson that we get out of the book of Job is that we should continue on. We should continue to, again, keep that relationship that we have with God because he does know what's on the other side and trust in him that whatever happens is going to be something that's going to be ultimately for our benefit. Even if that's passing over to the other side, what do we get? We get eternal life, we get a relationship with God. And at some point we're going to receive a glorified body. So those are the things that we should think of, even if we're not sure what's going to happen on this side of life.

Trusting God When You See No Good

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Job seems to be going through a series of psychological states. The people who study death and dying tell us that people who slowly come to realize they are terminal go through these emotional states. Here, Job starts out in shock and he's silent for an entire seven days. He doesn't know what to say. He's in shock. Then he in places starts to get angry at his friends and even angry at God sometimes. And here he seems to be tired of living. He seems resolved. I'm never going to see anything good again. This is one of the reasons why we would hold that the book of Job is indeed a real story, is because it's reflecting what we now know happened to many people as they go through a stage where they believe that they're going to be dying. And they go through these emotional phases. It would be very insensitive at this point to go to Job and say, Job, I know you've asked for God to take your life. You say I'm never going to see anything good again. It would be quite insensitive for his friends to go up to him and say, Job, oh buddy, turn that frown upside down. Rosy days are ahead. Just look on the bright side of life. That would be very insensitive because we don't know what he's going to see. His blessing may come in heaven. Here's the question: how can we then come to believe that God will indeed bless us on the other side of a tragedy? We know the end of the book of Job, so we can have, okay, Job, it's not so bad, but there are people who get to this stage that Job's at now. God just take my life. I'm not never going to see anything good again. And there's some people that die right there. So how can we, if we're in a situation like that, come to believe that God will indeed bless us on the other side of a tragedy?

SPEAKER_01 15:33

We go off of the scripture and what scripture tells us is going to happen to us and what is on the other side for us. That's what we have to know and believe in and trust in. And I think it's a lesson for us where we keep the people that we know and the believers that we're friends with, keep their eye on the ultimate that's going to happen no matter what's happening now. Not being like the friends that Job has here and what Eliphaz has started off with that Job, you've had to have done something wrong because God doesn't punish people who are righteous or who are innocent before him. So Eliphaz is looking at it as some sort of a punishment to Job. That's a lesson that we should take. We should encourage people and just let them know no matter what is happening now, look at where you're going, look at what ultimately is going to happen and keep them focused on that. And in the meantime, keep praising and honoring God through all of that, asking God to help us through those situations, but still keeping that relationship with God because ultimately we know that He is going to take care of us in the long run.

Nightmares Blame And Depression In The Dark

SPEAKER_00 16:56

One thing we can guarantee is that every single person on top side of the earth will see some tragedy between now and when they pass. Either they or somebody around them will have some sort of tragedy. So how do we teach people that there is indeed blessing on the other side of tragedy? Once they get in the depths of depression, then it's very difficult to see the other side. Just like Job here cannot see the other side. He doesn't believe anything good will come. So how do we do that? Well, we teach people before they go through the tragedy, knowing that all of us will indeed go through a valley at some point. We study places like the book of Job, like we're doing exactly right now. The book of Job is here to tell people there is indeed blessing on the other side of tragedy. So we need to teach these concepts to people now before they go through a tragedy, so that when they get in it, then they will know from studying the scriptures God has a reason. He's in control, everything in heaven is in order and may not feel good here right now. I may, but there will be blessings from this someday, whether or not I see it. That's the message of Job. And if we study that now, then the valleys won't be as deep. And in verse 9 here, Job says that those who go down to Sheol, that's the grave, do not come back. What he means here is explained in the next sentence. He's not denying bodily resurrection. What he's saying is he will not return to his house again. The word for house means several things, including household, family, place, and position and the social authority. Job's judgment is in the midst of this pessimistic depression because of his suffering. We shouldn't take this to say that people do not go through a bodily resurrection. Job at this point in his life is all doom and gloom, and even wrongly suggesting that God has forgotten him. The next section has even more of Job's response to Eliphaz. Steve, can you start at verse 12 and read down to verse 21?

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Am I the sea or the sea monster that you set a guard over me? If I say, My couch will comfort me, my bed will ease my complaint, then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me by visions, so that my soul would choose suffocation, death rather than my pains. I waste away, I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are only a breath. What is man that you exalt him and that you are concerned about him, that you examine him every morning and put him to the test every moment? Will you never turn your gaze away from me, nor leave me alone until I swallow my spittle? Have I sinned? What have I done to you, watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your target, so that I am a burden to myself? Why then do you not forgive my wrongdoing and take away my guilt? For now I will lie down in the dust, and you will search for me, but I will no longer exist.

SPEAKER_00 20:16

Job already told us that he's not sleeping well. Now in this section, he's talking about having nightmares. He's having these horrible visions at night. He says in verse 14, quote, You frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions. So he doesn't get any sleep. And it's not only that he's not resting, now he's having these horrible nightmares. The next step, though, is that he's accusing God of sending these nightmares to frighten him. Steve, do we sometimes blame God for our troubles?

SPEAKER_01 20:50

I think in general, people and unbelievers might lash out at God and point to God and say, Why are you doing this to me? That whatever malady that they're going through, that they blame it on God. I think believers in general have a perspective that it's not God bringing it on them because he loves them and he is a loving God. Yes, there's judgment and yes, there's punishment, but that's whenever you're maybe wandering from God and He's giving some sort of a discipline to bring you back to Him. If you're in a good relationship with God, much like what Job is, that's part of Job's argument. I'm innocent in all of this. I don't understand what's going on, but I can tell you, Eliphaz, I'm innocent. I'm not guilty. When you have that perspective, then I don't think that you blame God for what's happening to you. I think maybe you have a perspective that I have, which is quite often it's just our bodies. Our earthly bodies are going to break down at some point. There's many diseases that are out there. We contract those diseases. Diseases. And sometimes they're going to be fatal, and other times we're going to recover from them. But that's just a natural effect of our bodies, and they're going to break down. That doesn't have anything to do with God bringing the condition that we have upon us. There's other times whenever we go out and do ungodly things or sinful things. And what happens to us is a consequence of doing those ungodly things. Once again, that's not God bringing that something on us. That's something that's a consequence of what we did. So I think in general, unbelievers might sometimes blame God for what's going on. And I think it's a lashing out, and I think it's a way for them to justify their unbelief that they don't want to believe in God. But I in general, I think believers that have a good relationship with God understand that whatever it is they're going through, it's not something that God is putting upon them. It's in fact something that God is going to bring them through, and there's going to be some sort of a blessing, some sort of a good outcome on the other side of it.

SPEAKER_00 23:09

If there's a message in Job at all, it's this we should not blame God for our troubles. God may not tell us why, but he is not the cause of our troubles. He is the cause of what is orderly and good, and he is the cause of blessings, and he is in control. That is the message of Job. And the human condition is to scream out why. But as we've seen, the message of Job, he doesn't always tell us why. His grace is sufficient. Job is in such a low spot here that verse 15, he says he would choose suffocation over the pain he's experiencing. He is indeed suffering. My friend, have you ever felt like things are just piled on so high and deep that you're suffocating under all these situations? Well, Job was there also, and he gives us an answer of what to do in this book. Verse 16, Job is in so much emotional pain that he wants to be left alone to die. Steve, when people are feeling bad and depressed and they want to be left alone, is that a good thing to do? Should we be alone when we're depressed?

God’s Love Timing And An Honest Lament

SPEAKER_01 24:21

I don't think it's a good thing to be alone whenever we're depressed. And I don't think it's a good thing for us to leave people alone who are depressed. I know that depression is a difficult time that many go through. It's something that many of us don't know how to deal with if we have a friend that is in depression. But much like what we've talked about before, we don't always have to give people answers. And I think that much the same way that we don't always need to expect answers. What we should expect is for people to be there, our friends just to be there, just to go through it with us, not necessarily giving us answers because we don't know what the answer is, but be comforting, be understanding. At the same time, though, we need to understand that if we're in that bout of depression, that we shouldn't lash out at the people that are trying to comfort us and trying to be there for us. I know that depression is not a good thing, but if you have that relationship with God and you lean on Him, I think many times you can find your way to get out of that situation and to come out of it once again. And seeing that God has got a good thing on the other side of whatever it is you're going through.

SPEAKER_00 25:43

Being alone when you're in pain is usually not a good thing. We should be around others to try to help them, which lifts our spirits. In verse 17, Job asks a question to the Lord. He says this, quote, what is man that you exalt him and that you are concerned about him? This is a very profound question. God is self-sufficient, he is not needy, and he doesn't need humans. So that's a valid question. What is man that God should focus on us and God should exalt us? Very profound question. God is indeed self-sufficient. He doesn't need us. So why does he concern himself at all with humans? The answer is nothing in us that's lovely. The answer is that there is something in God that is loving. He is a loving God, and he by nature desires love in return. Love is the highest ethic. God indeed did not need us because he's perfect. He creates a creature that can love him back. That's why he concerns himself with us. There's nothing in us that's lovely. We are like Job. There is something in God that is loving. Then in verse 19, Job again suggesting that God is causing his pain. He's asking God to turn his gaze away and leave me alone, Job says. Verse 20, Job says, God has made him his target. So once again, Steve, is it true that Job's suffering is caused by God?

SPEAKER_01 27:17

No, it's not. Job should not have spoken as he did. Neither should we, whenever we face times of distress. But God does invite us to be open with him. We're told in Hebrews that now we can go boldly to the throne of God. Well, what does that mean? That means that we can be open with him as to our petition to him as to what's going on in our life. So he has invited us to do that, to express our deepest feelings. God knows how we are formed and remembers that we are dust. He's the one that has created us. And if we'll just cling to him throughout our trials, he will restore us in due time. And that's the key phrase. It's in God's timing. It's not in our timing. That is the frustration I think that we get into, and that our timing is immediate. We want resolution now, but God's timing isn't always now. God's timing sometime is wait. God's timing is sometimes in a little while. And God's timing might be on the other side in eternity.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

In these last verses of this chapter, he says to God, What have I done to you? And he asks, Why have you made me your target? He seems a little bit frustrated with God here. He's almost pointing his finger back at God saying, Why are you doing this? I think it's phrases like this that is why God has the attitude he does towards the end of the book, where God comes in and says, basically, who do you think you are questioning me? That's what we see towards the end. And I think, Steve, what we can hold to be true here is that Job's view of God has probably changed. If you remember at the beginning of the book, Job's prosperous life seems to be flowing all downhill on greased grooves. He's very wealthy, he has a great family, and everything's nice. Well, now it's exactly the opposite: no money, no health, no family. I think his view of God has changed. And I think it's going to change again before the end of the book. And so when we go through these circumstances of suffering, does our view of God change?

SPEAKER_01 29:36

As I've noted before in other sessions, I think this is just a natural progression of us as human beings wondering what's going on, having a conversation with God, asking why, contemplating as to why. And yes, I do think that as we go through those types of situations, not necessarily our view of God changes, but our view of our relationship with God might change.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

We'll stop here because we're at the end of a chapter, but be back with us next time because we're going to see the next of Job's friends give his view on why Job might be suffering. Thank you so much for watching and listening.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

May God bless you.