Job's Astoundingly Mature Prayer Request

“Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.” (Job 13:21 AV)

 

This verse is part of a prayer from Job to the LORD.  This prayer shows a lot of maturity for someone going through a very difficult and confusing time.  In essence, Job is asking for relief or a conclusion of his situation lest the pressure of it changes his relationship with God.  One can understand the request.  Job lost everything he had.  He lost his ten children.  He lost all his wealth.  He even lost his health.  Job was reduced to nothing.  What made the extra difficult was the silence of God.  He could not figure out why the LORD had allowed this to happen.  He could have tolerated the situation if the LORD had just given him a reason for it.  So, what our dear Job is seeking is for the LORD to remove His hand from him that he might die, and in so doing, the dread (unknown hand) of God not make him any more afraid.  Job is seeking relief from the LORD that he might maintain his relationship with Him as it was.

Over the years, I have seen several saints leave the fellowship of God and his people over tragic events.  Divorce, financial loss, or illness are hard times indeed.  However, the most common of all events that cause a saint to abandon any relief and hope they might have in Christ.  I can think of one in particular.  Someone who had a large impact on my life lost a child to a tragic event.  This person was a brilliant mentor of mine.  He taught me many infallible truths.  He had served in many capacities over the years.  His ministry helped a lot of people.  He was one of those men who could hold absolute positions on important yet divisive doctrines with humility and class.  After the event that took his child, he left the service of the church.  He left the church altogether.  He left and his life took a complete reversal of direction.  If you knew the fella today, you would never guess at one time he was a born-again believer and that he had worked in full-time Christian service.

Now, I want you to understand that I cannot come close to truly understanding what this man went through.  Nor do I condemn him.  I am not so sure, given the same set of circumstances, that I might not react the same as he did.  This goes double for Job.  One can imagine if the same happened to him or her, they might react differently from Job.  They might curse God and die.  This makes the above prayer request all the more admirable.  Job is more concerned with his walk with God than he is the loss he suffered.  He doesn’t want the adverse effects of his situation to turn his relationship with God into fear, anger, bitterness, or resentment.  He is afraid that if his situation lingers or gets worse, he might snap and run from God altogether.  This is why this prayer request is so amazing.  I hope I never have to go through what Job went through.  Or my mentor above.  My prayer is if you are facing the same, God will strengthen you above measure and the promise of 1Cor 10:13 rings true in your heart!