Scripture Reading: Psalm 13
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
NeverBorn
Job 3
October 13, 2024
Pastor Mark Fuller
“The third chapter of Job must be one of the most depressing chapters in the Bible. While some might be as depressed as Job was and use these verses to give vent to their feelings, few sermons are made from this chapter, few verses are claimed as promises, and few are remembered for the warmth of their sentiment. It is the lowest of several low points in the book.”
Robert Alden
Job 3 Outline
o Job wishes he had never been born. (Job 3:1-10)
o Since Job was born, he wishes he’d died at birth. (Job 3:11-19)
o Since Job didn’t die at birth, he wishes he could die now. (Job 3:20-26)
What wisdom can we learn for when we may despair?
How does Jesus fit into the picture?
JOB WISHES HE WAS NEVER BORN
Job 3:1-10
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 He said:
3 “May the day of my birth perish,
and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’
4 That day—may it turn to darkness;
may God above not care about it;
may no light shine on it.
5 May gloom and utter darkness claim it once more;
may a cloud settle over it;
may blackness overwhelm it.
6 That night—may thick darkness seize it;
may it not be included among the days of the year
nor be entered in any of the months.
7 May that night be barren;
may no shout of joy be heard in it.
8 May those who curse days curse that day,
those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.
9 May its morning stars become dark;
may it wait for daylight in vain
and not see the first rays of dawn,
10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
to hide trouble from my eyes.
JOB WISHES HE HAD DIED AT BIRTH
Job 3:11-19
11 “Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb?
12 Why were there knees to receive me
and breasts that I might be nursed?
“We don’t live our Christian lives on explanations; we live them on the promises.”
Warren Wiersbe
13 For now I would be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest
14 with kings and rulers of the earth,
who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,
15 with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,
like an infant who never saw the light of day?
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there the weary are at rest.
18 Captives also enjoy their ease;
they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout.
19 The small and the great are there,
and the slaves are freed from their owners.
JOB WISHES HE COULD DIE NOW
Job 3:20-26
20 “Why is light given to those in misery,
and life to the bitter of soul,
21 to those who long for death that does not come,
who search for it more than for hidden treasure,
22 who are filled with gladness
and rejoice when they reach the grave?
23 Why is life given to a man
whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?
24 For sighing has become my daily food;
my groans pour out like water.
25 What I feared has come upon me;
what I dreaded has happened to me.
26 I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no rest, but only turmoil.”
OVERCOMING DESPAIR: WISDOM FOR TODAY
Discouragement can strike anyone.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9
“We were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within [us]”.
“For more than a week I was close to the gates of death and hell. I trembled in all my members. Christ was wholly lost. I was shaken by desperation and blasphemy of God.”
Martin Luther
“I am the subject of depression so fearful that I hope none of you ever get to such extremes of wretchedness as I go to.”
Charles Spurgeon
OVERCOMING DESPAIR: WISDOM FOR TODAY
Discouragement can distort our perspective.
You Are Not Alone
You Are Not Weak
You Are Not Rejected
OVERCOMING DESPAIR: WISDOM FOR TODAY
When discouraged, double down on healthy everyday steps.
Memorize and meditate upon Scripture.
Listen to Christian music.
Stay plugged in to Christian fellowship.
Find someone else to encourage.
OVERCOMING DESPAIR: WISDOM FOR TODAY
When discouraged, double down on healthy everyday steps.
Have a prayer partner.
Remember that God is sovereign.
Maintain physical exercise.
Vent Vertically.