After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said: “Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man is conceived.’ Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it. (Job 3:1-4)
After 7 days of mourning, Job breaks the silence among his friends. In Job chapter 3, we hear Job’s heart. He is torn. He is sad. He is almost hopeless. He wishes he had never been born.
We may balk at Job’s response, but if we’re honest, we can all relate. Perhaps we’ve never wished we weren’t born, but circumstances and pain in life have been so intense that we questioned everything we knew. We wondered about our purpose. We’ve asked, as many human beings have, “Is life worth living?”
You and I live in a society that devalues life. Perpetrators and victims alike struggle with finding meaning. We read about murders and wars. Abortion and the killing of the innocent. All of this while there is a rising mental health crisis manifest in depression, anxiety, and even suicide. These tragic situations take place in a society of wealth, convenience, and comfort. Yet with all of this, many still ask if life is worth living.
You don’t need to be an unbeliever to understand this question, however. Many Christians, tossed by the storms of life, can resonate with Job’s heart. Why this? Why me? Why now? What’s the point?
Thankfully, all is not hopeless! The Book of Job, as we’ve seen, is pulsing with raw emotion and human agony. But, thank God, the book also gives us glimpses of eternal truth that bring light into our darkness!
Job may have cursed the day of his birth, but as we continue to read his words, we realize that he never ultimately gave up hope. His hope was that one day, he might be able to talk to God about his plight. True – his agony might have been greater than his hope, but his hope was still there, no matter how small.
As we approach this dark passage of ancient scripture, may we be able to identify with the sorrows that befall man, yet at the same time, look up toward the God who gives us hope and makes life worth living.