Are You Lonesome Tonight?
As we move into short days and long nights, it becomes easier to feel discouraged. If we are increasingly secluded (by weather and, this year, by governmental edict), we can experience genuine loneliness. I enjoy being alone, but I have a choice in the matter; others do not. Solitude occurs when we want to be alone; loneliness happens when friends and family are taken from us. Solitude soothes, whereas loneliness looms. Because God knows all about us, His Word speaks to us about the painful subject of loneliness. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
The sorrows of Job are well-known; in fact, “the patience of Job” is still a proverbial expression. He experienced extraordinary loss, including his children, health, and riches. The end of his story, with restoration of all three losses, is a testament to one man’s genuine faith and God’s unflagging goodness. To thoughtfully read the book of Job is to grasp Job’s brokenness and bereftness. However, he is not the most lonesome person in this account. No, that sad spot is occupied by his wife, who in Job 2:9 sorely snapped at her spouse, “Curse God, and die.” We understand that this tempermental termagant was also grieving, but even a vexed virago should know when to turn down the volume (see Job’s right response in verse 10). Whereas Job never lost the comfort and courage that the certainty of God’s companionship confers, his wife suffered in a solitary storm of strain and stress. The One – the only One – Who could help her, was ready to come alongside (and even speak, as He did with her husband). God is good and still blessed this harried harridan in the end, but she missed His presence during the hardest time of her life. May we never make her mistake, for “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).