Grab the Rope!

“Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.” (Job 33:29-30 AV)

 

The speaker here is the youngest of Job’s friends.  Elihu has a lot of good things to say.  However, like the three other comforters, most of it does not apply to Job.  Actually, as you read Elihu’s comments one cannot be struck with the youthful arrogance in his words.  He thinks he and he alone holds all the wisdom of God applicable to Job’s situation.  Putting that aside, there are nuggets like the one above that do, indeed, speak to Job’s situation.  This one brief sentence of encouragement is really all Job needs.  He needs someone who is not suffering as he is to remind him of the goodness and grace of God.  Job needs to be reminded that even though his situation is a very difficult one, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  The truth above is a simple one.  It is a universally applied truth.  The word ‘man’ is generic to include all of mankind.  And this God does.  He brings back our soul from the depths of despair so that we might once again have hope among those who have hope.  He does this often!

There are so many experiences from which I can draw.  The passing of my brother, parents, and several close friends come to mind.  Deep depression over my habitual sin is also a pit from which the LORD pulls me.  Job loss and financially hard times also was a pit from which the LORD pulled me.  There are hard times in ministry when I hope that Sundays do not come.  They are few and far between, but the LORD is always there to pull me out.  However, the deepest of all pits, at least for me, is my constant failure to please the LORD.  I am not even close to being the person God desires.  There are so many flaws I cannot understand why He puts up with me.  Do I believe in the grace of God?  The fact I exist and am still alive screams YES!  These pits are often a part of life.  As they are for me, they are for everyone.  Times of self-doubt.  Times of guilt and shame.  Times of inadequacy.  Times of fatigue.  Times when we foolishly reflect on events of the past and give the adversary an open door to beat us up.  Times of satanic or demonic attack.  Times of health setbacks.  The times are numerous.  They are frequent.  But they are not permanent.  Or at least they shouldn’t be.

The most beautiful word in the passage above, at least for me, is ‘oftentimes’.  Job should have latched on to this truth and throw out all the other comments passed on to him.  There are times when the pit seems too dark and deep and we wonder if God can pull us out.  We pray.  We fast.  We read our Bibles.  We seek God’s face.  We wonder if the pit will ever be conquered.  Over time, the LORD pulls us out.  Sometimes suddenly.  Sometimes it is a process.  The best way to rescue someone from a pit is the fill it with water.  As the water rises, so does the victim.  It takes time.  That water is not only the means of rescue but also the source of refreshment.  While in the pit, God sends us showers of blessings.  As soon as the blessings become of greater volume than the pit, then out we come.  This He does oftentimes.  Not just here and there.  He does this so many times we often take it for granted.  That is until we are in another pit.  But when we fall, let us hang on to the verses above.  Maybe in doing so, we will not fall nearly as deep.