Jump Start # 548 

Job 3:1-3 Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said, “Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

  We know the story of Job. It is a hurting man who tries to figure out why. It’s one thing to suffer because you have done wrong or got caught doing wrong and now justice is being served. That’s not Job’s story. He’s so righteous and so blameless that God brings him up to Satan. Job is the center piece of God’s trophy case.

  God allows Satan to release all the hurt he can upon him without ending his life. All of Job’s children are killed—all, in one day. His health, wealth, and mental peace are taken from him. His wife gives up and she encourages Job to throw in the towel. Three friends from distant places come and sit with Job. They sit for a week without saying anything. Probably, his best week since all the disaster started.

  Our verse today is what Job says after a week of silence with his friends. It opens the door to  a broken man who doesn’t understand why. What follows are long chapters of dialogue, debate and discussion between Job and the friends.

   Job wishes he was never born. His thought is that had he never been born, then the wouldn’t hurt as he was. Non-existence was better than the intense emotional and physical pain he was going through. When we hurt, we can stand in the footprints of Job. We can say, “I wish I’d never gotten married,” or, “I wish we didn’t have that child…” rather than to witness their death and to have your heart broken.

  Job is one of the oldest books of the Bible. It most likely fits somewhere in the book of Genesis. Let’s follow Job’s thinking for a moment. Let’s grant his wish. Suppose there had never been a Job.

• Without a Job, Mrs. Job would have never married him. A total of 18 children would not have been born.
• Without Job, there would have been no story of Job, thus no book of the Bible called Job.
• James would not have used Job as an example of endurance had he never been born.
• Without Job. we would not understand why righteous people suffer.
• Without Job, we would not know that Satan is behind suffering.
• Without Job, we would not know what to do when we ask “Why?”

  Job helps. Job points us to God. Job reminds us what is right. Job shows that Satan can’t do anything he wants. We need Job. Our suffering would crush us without a Job. We’d blame God and likely quit if it wasn’t for Job.

  Now, take that thought and apply it to you. What if you were never born? That’s the gist behind the Christmas movie, “It’s a wonderful life.” George Bailey is in trouble. He’s desperate. That’s generally when we start thinking those thoughts. It’s not when things are going well, but terrible. Suicide is his only plan. A bumbling angel is sent to save George. In the process, like Job, George wishes he was never born. The angel, Clarence, grants that wish and he gets to see what his world is like without him. It was different. Things changed. It illustrated how much  he had touched the lives of others.

  That story is really our story. Often we feel that we haven’t done much or have made very little difference, but that’s rarely true. Through our family, our friends, we’ve impacted many people. God needs you because only you can do what you do. It’s that way in a family. It’s that way in the church. In the Corinthian letter, Paul would describe the brethren as hands, feet, eyes, ears, and noses. They were different and they each serve different functions. Each of them are part of our senses. Without any of them, a person would be considered handicapped. No one was useless. No one was a part that wasn’t necessary. So it is with us. We are needed. We are needed by our families. We are needed by the church. Life needs us. God needs us.

  The good we do is like a spring rain. It’s soon forgotten, but it nourishes the soil which allows the tender plants to thrive and bloom. Without the rain, the flowers are unable to grow. We sprinkle blessings, help and hope to this one and then to that one, not thinking much about it, just thankful we can be of some help. But those showers of blessings make a difference to the one who receives it.

  Sundays are like that to me. So much good being done. So many lives blessing other lives. Each person simply doing what they can.

  God allowed you to be born for a purpose, for His purpose. You make a difference, even if you don’t see it. Even today, you’ll find ways to send rays of sunshine upon lives darkened with sorrow and pain. It will help, it always does. You are needed. We are thankful for you.

  Roger