The Dark Night of the SoulSample

Job

“One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.’ Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.'” Job 1:6-8

No devotional on the Dark Night of the Soul would be complete without considering Job. His story is one of those that most people avoid, for the story seems way too depressing. However, in the last few years, I have discovered so much treasure in this book of the Bible. You probably know the story. Satan attacks Job’s life. He loses all his possessions and servants, ten children, and health. His wife and three of his friends all try to console him and counsel him, but they don’t have an answer for him. It reminds me of a good friend fired from a good job over a miscommunication, and he was left stunned and devastated. He called a few other close friends and me to tell us the news. Later he told me, “None of you really had what I needed. I had to work it out with the Lord.”

Job had his Dark Night of the Soul. He tried to make sense of his calamity. When his wife told him to “Curse God and die!” Job said, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10) Another friend has done an extensive study on Job, and he makes a good case that “Mrs. Job,” who gets painted as the villain, was actually a very loving, faithful wife.

Nevertheless, Job was forced to suffer much. Imagine the pain of losing all your children, all your possessions, and coming down with a painful disease. Surely, you would feel cursed by God. Listen to his anguish:

“May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is born!’ That day- may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it.” Job 3:3-4

“If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas…The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshaled against me.” Job 6:2-4

“I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me. Does it please You to oppress me?” Job 10:1-3a

You can probably relate to Job’s misery if you have ever been at a low point in your life. The interesting thing about Job's story is that Job and his friends and his wife were operating on faulty theology. They all seemed to believe that God blesses you if you do right. If you do wrong, God curses you. Right? Wrong! In Job, chapter 1, not only was Job blameless, but he was hand-picked by God as one of God’s best men on the planet! Unfortunately, Job wasn’t privy to the conversation between God and Satan. He only had to deal with his circumstances and stand on his faith.

After many days of torment and counsel and complaining, God finally speaks to Job in a very strong way…“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” (Job 38:4) He goes on for four chapters, rebuking Job.

Filled with repentance, Job says,

“I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:2-6

God relented and restored Job, and He blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first, with ten more children, wealth, friends, and peace.

If you are in your Dark Night of the Soul, and it makes no sense to you, take heart and remember Job. God is Sovereign, and there may be things you don’t understand going on in God’s greater economy of your life. Trust Him. Be still and know He is God. You may think He is punishing you when He may be proving to Satan how faithful you are. After all, His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)