We're in the book of Job, and if you don't have a paper copy, I've been encouraging you to bring a physical copy of your Bibles to church because we've been looking at large sections of the book and sometimes it's helpful to be able to see those verses scrolling. It's not that I'm against electronic Bibles. I look at them frequently myself. But with these larger passages, I think it's helpful for us to be able to glance back and forth quickly between verses. So if you have a Bible, please turn to the book of Job chapter 3. You cry out, why me? What did I do to deserve this? There's no obvious sin in your life, to the best of your knowledge. You are walking with the Lord, yet the diagnosis is in cancer, brain tumor, Alzheimer's, MS, an autoimmune disease. Perhaps you've experienced a miscarriage, or perhaps you can't get pregnant at all. And you cry out, why me? What did I do to deserve this? There's no obvious sin in your life. To the best of your knowledge, you're walking with the Lord, yet your company makes a cutback and you lose your job. You walk out into the parking lot and discover someone has crashed into your car and ran off. Perhaps your home is broken into and your valuables are stolen or you've been overlooked for promotion, one that you deserved but somebody else got because of connections. And you cry out, why me? What did I do to deserve this? Yet there's no obvious sin in your life. To the best of your knowledge, you're walking with the Lord, yet your spouse has filed for divorce or you are sexually assaulted. Your siblings falsely accuse you and think the worst of you, resulting in your parents and them having a broken relationship with you. Perhaps you desire to be married, but it's just not happening. And you cry out, why me? What did I do to deserve this? I wish I had never been born. I wish my troubles would end. If that's you, then you can very easily identify with Job. What we know that Job didn't is in those first two chapters, righteous Job was set apart for testing. From Satan's standpoint, Job was tested because Satan doubted Job's motivations for serving God. He thought Job was a gold digger. But Job responded by stating that God has a right to give and to take away when God took away or when God allowed Satan to take away his possessions and then his health. Job passes the test. But that doesn't mean Job was OK with his situation. He lost everything, his children, his possessions, his health. It's all gone. And remember, Job doesn't know what we know. He has no idea why all this is happening to him. And so, Job laments. Job laments. His three friends have arrived, and so they're able to hear this conversation that Job is having, and they'll have their things to say after this. But we step in at Job chapter 3, verses 1 through 10, and we see where Job curses the day he was born. After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said, now we enter the poetic section of the book just by note here. OK, so now we get poetry until the very end of the book. And if you have your Bible, maybe formatted a little bit differently to let that show the verse two. And Job said, let the day perish on which I was born and the night that said A man is conceived. Let that day be darkness. May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it. Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it. Let the blackness of the day terrify it. That night, let thick darkness seize it. Let it not rejoice among the days of the year. Let it not come into the number of the months. Behold, let that night be barren. Let no joyful cry enter it. Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan. Let the stars of its dawn be dark. Let it hope for light. but have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning, because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes. Job uses a lot of creation language here in darkness. Darkness representing the chaos, the chaotic environment that God struck light into and began to bring order out of in Genesis 1. Here we see Job wishing for darkness to come upon the day of his birth. Notice also that troubles are the reason for the calling of the curse there at the end of verse 10, he said, because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes. Trouble is the cause of this curse, and we see trouble as a theme. We see it here in verse 10. We also are going to see it in verse 17 there where the wicked cease from troubling. And then we also see it in the end of verse 26. Trouble comes. Job curses the day of his birth. I wish I'd never been born. And Job then goes on to say that he sees an early death as preferable to a life of troubles. Look at verses 11 through 19. Why did I not die at birth? come out from the womb and expire. Why did the knees receive me or why the breasts that I should nurse? For then I would have lain down and been quiet. I would have slept. Then I would have been at rest with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves or with princes who had gold who filled their houses with silver. Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light. There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together. They hear not the voice of the taskmaster. The small and great are there. And the slave is free from his master. Job sees an early death as preferable to a life of troubles. Here he is speaking of when someone dies, they go to the afterworld. It's the word Sheol. It's the place of the departed spirits. So that when one dies, this is the place that they go. And I have here a handout called The Ancient Hebrew Conception of the Universe. Now, you can get those after the sermon because what I don't want to do is derail this thing into a study on Sheol because that's not really the point. But it'll help you to see the Hebrew concept of the afterlife. And so Sheol is this place of the undead. Let me quickly state what we find out as the Bible progresses, we're revealed more and more. And when Jesus speaks of the rich man and Lazarus, he describes Sheol as this place that we have Abraham's bosom, a place of blessing. And then we have a place of torment where the rich man is and he desires water to calm the burning sensation that he has. And then as they speak, as Abraham and the rich man speak, there's this great gulf fixed between. And it is it is we're physical beings. And so when we read of the spiritual realm where it is described to us in terms that we can understand in the physical realm. And so Job has a concept of the universe and we do, too, as you will see on that handout. I explained a little bit of that. But we have we have what we more readily call heaven. And this great gulf, in other words, there's no way to get from heaven to hell for us. Right. And so then there's this place of death and a place of holding. until judgment. And in the book of Revelation, at the end we see that death and Hades, the New Testament word for Sheol, are emptied and those people who were there are judged at the final judgment and placed into the lake of fire, the final judgment. And if you have questions about any of that, you can send me an email or talk to me, text me, whatever the case may be. But that's the concept of Sheol. So in Job's day, it's a place of departed spirits. And it's a place where people go and and there's not necessarily joy, but but there's not necessarily suffering either. It's kind of a holding place in his mind, especially since he is a righteous man. He believes himself rightly to go to the what we would say the paradise side of Sheol. He sees himself getting there. And if he were stillborn, that's where he would go. Because death is the great equalizer in verse 19. The small and the great are there. And the slave is free from his master. The small and great are there. The great are the ones that are described in verses 14 and 15 for us as the kings and the princes who have done mighty things on this earth. They pass away. They're no longer on this earth. They're in the place of departed spirits, just like the small, which are described for us in verses 17 and 18. You see, the wicked cease from troubling. So, the people who have been troubled by wicked people, they have rest from them. There, the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together. They hear not the voice of the taskmaster. They're no longer oppressed and the slave is free from his master. Job sees death as freedom from troubles in life. Now, we see also that Job is longing for quiet, ease. and rest. Look at verse 13. We see that he says, I have lain down and been quiet. Then would I have lain down and been quiet? I would have slept. That's rest. And I would and I would have been at rest, at ease. And so we see that also in verse 18. There the prisoners are at ease together. Instead of sleeping here, they're at ease. They hear not the voice of the taskmaster. There's quiet. And verse 17, there the wicked cease from troubling. They have rest. The weary are at rest. And then we're going to see in verse 26, those same three concepts repeated because Job says, I am not at ease, nor am I quiet. I have no rest. So Job sees death as freedom from troubles in life and he is longing for quiet, ease and rest. Then Job goes on in verses 20 through 23 to question why is life given to the troubled in the first place? And life here we have is going to be life. Again, creation language making its way in here. And who is the light of the world? Who is the life of this world? Jesus Christ, right? But verse 20-23, he says, "...why is light given to him who is in misery and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave?" Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden whom God has hedged in. Job asks a more general question here. He falls away from the first person and he starts talking about life being given to him or to a man. Note the troubled language here. Someone who is in misery, they are bitter in soul. They are longing for death and they cannot figure out what God is up to. There's a frustration. Why is light in verse 23, why is light given to a man whose way is hidden? He's like, I can't even figure out what's going on. It's just wave after wave of trouble and trouble and trouble. And God has hedged me in. It's like when I try to find my way and and then suddenly I just I bump into this and I can't move it. Troubles, troubles, troubles. Why is life given to those who suffer misery? And then Job goes on to describe his current situation, which he identifies with in verses 24 through 26. For my sighing comes instead of my bread and my groanings are poured out like water for the thing that I fear comes upon me and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet. I have no rest. But trouble comes, Job says, sighs and groanings. That's my substance. I eat that like breakfast, lunch and dinner. His worst nightmares have become his reality. What are his worst nightmares? Well, my goodness, he's lost everything and he is not at ease. Nor is he experiencing quiet in his life. There's not rest to be found, but he's only experiencing trouble. Remember, Job's sitting on an ash heap, scraping his skin with a broken piece of pottery, mourning the death of his family, the loss of his servants and his goods. And the question comes, is it wrong to desire quiet? and rest? Well, no. In the New Testament, we're commanded to pray for it. In fact, we're commanded to pray for our leaders that we may have it. 1 Timothy 2, verses 1 and 2. Paul tells Timothy, First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life. godly and dignified in every way. It's okay to want a trouble-free life, but we're also told by our Lord that those who follow after him will encounter suffering. So Job questions here, why is life given to those who suffer unjust troubles? And Job will not find an answer to his question. Job will not be given an answer to his question. So he laments. There's a fellow whose name is Mark Vrogop, best as I'm guessing as to how you pronounce it. OK. And I have a quote from him up here. But laments provide the way for moving through loss to hope. Laments provide the way for moving through loss to hope. You see, it's OK to lament suffering and long for a better life. Lament helps us endure present pain for the joy of the future. We see Christ lament. Christ lamented the unjust suffering he faced and endured. If you look to Matthew 26, verses 36 to 46, we see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. And his lament there, we'll read the whole passage just to remind us of the grief that Jesus endured. And I want us to sit heavy with Job, OK? We're coming here for an hour and we're looking at this chapter, but we have to remember Job is a human and he's lost everything and he doesn't know why. Jesus has lived a righteous life and he is about to endure the greatest injustice this earth has ever known. Verse 36, this is after the Passover meal. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane and he said to his disciples, sit here while I go over there. and pray, and taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. And then he said to them, My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with me. And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Is it OK? to desire a trouble-free life. Jesus prayed for it. But he says, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. You see, lamenting helps us endure present pain for a future hope. And he came to the disciples and he found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, so, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "'My father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.' And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand." Much like Job, Jesus is practically alone. Job sits with three friends watching. Jesus prays with three friends sleeping. And then on the cross, Matthew 27, verse 46 says, In about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Quoting Psalm 22. It begins with a lament. Like Job, Christ lamented his troubles. It's OK to lament unjust suffering and troubles and long for a better life. Lament helps us endure present pain for the joy of the future. So now I want to take some time and and let's go through how to lament. And this information is taken from this fellow, Mark Vrogop. He writes a good bit on lamenting. But let's first look at James chapter 1 because we have this apparent contradiction. James chapter 1 verse 2. Count it all...what's that word say? Joy. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. And then skip on down for sake of time to verse 12. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him." Joy, endurance, steadfastness, and then joy to receive the crown of life. How do we get from trials? to joy. Well, the path is lament. OK, how can I have joy when I encounter various trials? I lament. I don't just suck it up and say and put on a fake smile. How are you doing? Great. Better not deserve, you know. Look at Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12 comes after what? Hebrews chapter 11, pastor. That's right. It's the faith chapter, right? It's all those, that faith hall of fame, people that had great faith in the Old Testament. But it starts out great with people seeing people raised from the dead and that type of thing, and barren women giving birth to children and that type of thing. But it ends with people being sawn into, being poor and destitute. And the writer of Hebrews says, Therefore, since we have all these people that have went before us, with this great faith, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, those who have gone before us that have kept their faith. Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, here's our example to follow. The founder and perfecter of our faith. So what did Jesus do? Who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross. What did he do with the shame? He despised it, and he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, he despised the shame, but he knew what was coming at the end. And then in verse 3, we're encouraged to consider Christ who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint hearted. I believe this portion of that chapter is speaking about the troubles and trials that come upon the Christian's life, not because of the sin that is so easily besetting them. He addresses that later on. But here, it's the ones who are unjustly troubling you. And I say this, it's OK to lament unjust suffering and long for a better life. Lament helps us endure present pain for the joy of the future. So look now to Psalm 13. Psalm 13. Turn over from the book of Job there to Psalm 13. We're going to do this one instead of Psalm 22 because it's shorter. But I want to teach you, give you some practical things that can help you to lament. Mark Vrogrop says that lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust. A prayer in pain that leads to trust and Psalm 13 is a good example. Now, if I could if I could get you to just put the slide up that has the C.A.T. real quick. There we go. OK, before we get into this, I want to just give you this. This is what we look for in lament Psalms. They're not always in this order. Now, in Psalm 13, conveniently, it is in this order. But these are the things that you look for when you're reading a lament psalm. They're not always that way. Sometimes there's a trusting of God and there's an asking God to act and then there's a complaining. Right. It's just the flip side order. And sometimes they're mixed up. But lament psalms are there to help us learn how to express our true feelings to God in the midst of troubles. OK, so the first two verses is going to be a complaint to God. Complain to God. You think he doesn't know what your real thoughts are? So take it to him. Complain to God. The next two verses are asking God to act according to his character. Now, his character is going to be found in verse five, but you ask God to act according to his character. You can't ask God to be deceptive because he ain't, right? But you can ask God to act according to his character in your life. And then there's a trusting, verses five and six, trusting in the character of God. You've taken your complaint to him. You've asked him to act according to his character. And then you're going to trust that whatever happens, he's got control of it. OK, so that that helps you endure the cross that you face for the joy that is set before you, which is you get God, right? That's the ultimate. OK, so let's quickly go through Psalm 13. First of all, is that complaint? And I think it's don't be afraid to read the Bible for what it really says. Sometimes we think that, oh, how righteous, how good. And in our culture, we've developed this thing of that that we don't we don't talk like Job talked. We don't we don't say out loud, I wish I'd never been born. That comes through some, the Puritans were very good and very godly people, but they also encouraged some stoicism. We have to remember, Job's not sinning when he laments the day that he was born. That's pretty strong language. You know, if Barry walked into my office and he said, Pastor, I wish I'd never been born. Damn the day, Pastor, that I was born. I would be uncomfortable. OK, but I shouldn't be. God's got big shoulders, beloved. OK, God's got big shoulders. So when we read this, think about this is being said to God. So I'm going to read it a little aggressively. How long, oh, Lord, will you forget me forever? Has God forgotten him? I mean, theologically, not possible. But that's what he says. He feels forgotten. Will you forgive me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul? In other words, I'm not hearing from you, God. I'm trying to figure this out and have sorrow in my heart all the day. How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Complaining raw. complaining. God's got big shoulders. You who are parents, when your children are little and they feel like you're not being fair with them, they might say some pretty harsh things to you. They might even tell you they hate you. Did you did you walk off offended? No, no, you had compassion. They didn't understand what's going on. God's got big shoulders. Complaining to God. But then ask God to act according to his character. Verses 3 and 4. Consider and answer me, O Lord my God. Light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. Lest my enemies say I have prevailed over him. Lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. Lord, I'm being unjustly treated and you're a God of justice. Act, God. Deliver me. And then there's trust. But I have trusted in your steadfast love." Now, that's one of the characteristics, steadfast covenant love that's given to us in Exodus 34, 6 and 7. At the beginning of the book of Psalms, you should just write down Exodus 34, 6 and 7 in big letters because that describes the character of God. And any time you encounter one of these laments, the psalmist is going to ask God to act according to one of those characteristics found in Exodus 34, 6 and 7. So he says, but I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall what? Rejoice in your salvation. I will what? Sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me. Prayer and pain that leads to trust. We move from pain to praise through laments. While we while we do not see the trusting part as of yet in Job chapter three, we see later that Job is trusting the Lord despite his circumstances. We will see him say a few times that he will continue to fear the Lord and eschew evil in his life. And he is trusting the Lord. He doesn't know what's going on. So, beloved, it is okay to lament unjust suffering and long for a better life. Lament helps us endure present pain for the joy of the future. Ultimate joy is found in the Lord. This world, even when it's trouble-free, is not the ultimate. Even though we know God is in control, Even when, for reasons that we know, our faith is tested for genuine oneness, it doesn't mean that we rejoice in injustice. Count it all joy when you encounter those various trials. We don't have to rejoice in cancer. We can hate cancer. We can hate cancer. We can despise the cross, as Jesus did. We can despise the pain. It doesn't mean when James says that, count it all joy, that we have to like it or never question it. Don't bottle up your emotions and frustrations. Take them to the Lord in lament. Now, some general takeaways before we get specific, considering lamenting and Job's situation. General takeaways. Though death can seem preferable to continued suffering, suicide is not the answer. We don't see Job turning to suicide. You can curse the day you were born. You can long for release from your suffering, but do not take your own life. As Job said, God gives and God takes away. Well, guess who gave you life? God. Guess who has the right to take away your life? God, not you. OK, it is his to take when he appoints it. So hang in there. It's OK to lament your situation because God knows he hears and he cares and he will sustain you. Number two, general observation. Just because somebody has it worse than you doesn't mean that you don't have the right to lament. It doesn't mean that you should feel ashamed to lament. It can be a comfort to realize that others had it worse than you. I mean, the author of Hebrews said, consider Jesus who suffered. He endured all these centers, right? It can be a comfort. But the purpose of Job's story is not to be used as an excuse not to lament, as in, well, at least I'm not Job. Some people suffer more than others, but that does not mean that your troubles are not important to God. And it does not mean that your troubles are not important to God. We are blessed. that we do not live in the Ukraine this morning. Amen. But that does not mean that your troubles that you encounter today are unimportant or that you shouldn't bother to take them before God. Look, there are times when a loved one or something's going through a trial and you're just like, you know what, I need to talk to them about something, but now's not the time. That's wisdom, right? But that's not God. That's not God. You can go to God anytime. God's never overwhelmed with the troubles of this world. It's OK to complain to him about the situation that you're in. OK, he's not he's not he's not going to say to you, I'm backed up. Sorry. Wait your turn. That's not God. Number three, injustice is real in this world and it should be lamented. It could be for reasons unbeknownst to you. Your faith is being tested for genuineness through unjust suffering. So, whether you suffer injustice by the unjust loss of possessions or the loss of health for unknown reasons, for trouble and injustice, these things are real and they should be lamented. Next thing, at a minimum, laments are to be taken to the Lord. Friends can help comfort you, but the Lord can sustain you. OK, so at a minimum. Now, what do I mean by that? OK, well, it's OK to lament to your friends, but be sure that you don't just lament to your friends. Go to the Lord. Right. He's the one that can help your situation. I mean, depending on your situation, I can listen and I can grieve with you about certain situations. But some of you are sick and God, I wish I could help you. But I can't. I can listen. I can grieve. I can pray. But God can help. So it's okay to complain to me. I'll listen. But be sure you take it to God. He's got power. Without lamenting your troubles, your losses, your grief, you risk becoming disappointed with God. Say that again, without lamenting our troubles, our losses and our grief, we risk becoming this disappointed with God. You might even get bitter towards God. Are you disappointed or bitter with God? Let me ask you this. Who do you complain more to about your troubles to God or to people? Because if you're only complaining to someone else about your problems and you're not complaining to God about them, then hidden underneath that is you've got a problem with God and you're getting bitter towards him. You don't want to be bitter towards God. He loves you. He died for you. He showed that on the cross. Next observation. Job's never given an answer to his question. And it's OK to lament not having all the answers to your questions. His ways are higher than our ways. The secret things belong to the Lord. That doesn't mean we can't lament the fact that we don't know. And it's OK to long for and even pray for a trouble-free life. Jesus asked God not to have to drink the cup of his wrath against our sin, but he drank it. If you're here this morning or you're listening to this message, you need to understand that Christ died for your sins. The greatest injustice in the world, God turned into redemption. Christ died for our sins and he was buried. He rose again the third day for our justification. If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior. Then I urge you, turn from your sin and call out to God and ask Him to forgive you of your sin because of what Christ did for you. You can't pay for your own sins. He drank the cup of God's wrath against your sin. He didn't deserve it. It was injustice. But God turned that injustice into our redemption. What a great plot twist. What a wonderful story. It's good news. It's the gospel. Would you believe it today? Job questioned, why is life given to those who suffer unjust troubles? And he was not given an answer. Lament provides a way for moving through loss to hope. It's OK to lament unjust suffering and long for a better life. Lament helps us to endure our present pain for the joy of the future. So complain to God, ask God to act according to his character and trust him. It's that acronym cat. How do you lament cat? You know, now my daughter loves cats. Me, not so much. But cat can be a helpful acronym to help you remember that. Complain to the Lord, ask him to act according to his character and then trust him. If you or a loved one have some health issue like cancer, Alzheimer's, autoimmune diseases, inherited heart disease or a litany of other diseases that have no connection to any particular sin in your life, Lament. It's OK to lament. If you've been treated unjustly in a relationship, rather with a spouse, a friend or a brother and sister in Christ, lament. If you've lost a loved one to an accident, to a divorce or simply by their moving far away, it's OK to lament. If you're being mistreated in your workplace or perhaps you've suffered a sexual assault or some other horrible injustice, lament, lament. This world is not what it ought to be. It is not the ultimate. The ultimate is God and God's presence. If you just can't seem to catch a break from troubles, whether great or small, it's OK to lament. Lament helps us endure present pain for the joy of the future. So complain to the Lord. Ask him to act according to his character and then express your trust of the Lord in praise. Now, again, I want to remind you that we're going quickly through the book of Job. And so, if you have questions, please email me. Any questions that you may have, do remember to pick up one of these on the way out. If you have questions about some of the sermon, again, email me and let me know. Let's pray.