S) "27 Though I say, 'I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,'
28 I am afraid of all my pains,
I know that You will not acquit me."
Job 9:27-28 (NASB)
O) Job was obviously dealing with physical struggles, but he was also dealing with tremendous emotional pain. It cannot be overlooked, that he had lost everything he could possibly value. He lost his offspring. It would seem his wife also left him, although she didn't die. He lost all of his possessions. Through this, he couldn't see any specific thing he had done wrong, but he understood that if God saw him as guilty, he stood no chance for appeal. In this brief passage (vv.25-35), he started to express the futility of his life, realizing he had no hope of pleading with God. In the verses above, he specifically notes that even optimism is pointless, because it doesn't actually change his situation. He knows that putting on a happy face doesn't actually change the pain that is coming against him, because it doesn't change how God sees him. He understood that if God was indeed against him, there was nothing he could do for himself about that (see v.32-35).
A) Optimism does not work. In a general way, I suppose my outlook on life would be described as optimistic. However, I cringe a little every time I hear myself described that way. Even though I could never correctly be described as a pessimist, so often I think optimism is seen as hollow. Indeed, when optimism is baseless, it actually is hollow! That's the root of what Job was saying in the passage above. In my own life, it may seem that I am usually positive, but it is only because of what Christ has done, and what He is doing currently, in my life. I don't mean what He is doing for me, but what He is doing to me, as He is continuing to change me, shaping me into a better disciple and a better son of God. Too often, I think Christians are seen as "fake" because we feel a pressure to always be happy. We hear sermons, or read books, or even see Scripture that talks about being joyful, and there tends to be this pressure to put on a happy smile all of the time. However, the world will see right through that façade. It is perfectly okay to acknowledge pain. Because, as Job was saying, we are not able to pretend, like we are not facing various struggles and trials. We are not like that in ourselves. However, if I in Christ, if I am surrendering my suffering to Him, then I can consider it all joy. If my suffering is driving me to my knees, not in submission to the trial, but in submission to Christ, then it is all for joy, even if the tears are bitter.
P) Father, You are good. In the most simple, yet most profound way, Your goodness and grace are the source of my joy. I know that plain optimism is pointless. If there is no basis for hope, no basis for joy, then just putting on a happy face will be futile. That kind of forced happiness cannot be sustained. That is just the sort of faking that casts suspicion on Christianity. I never want to misrepresent Your goodness with a fake optimism. On the other hand, I recognize that You have blessed me with a tremendous joy, and peace that has carried me through many trials, sufferings, and outright chaos. You have sustained me, not some kind of positive mindset. Help me to properly represent Your character to others. Let me be bold and honest about the source of my happiness. I am joyful because You have acquitted me! You acquitted me through the redemptive work of Your Son, Jesus Christ! Because of the redemption that has been given to me in grace, I no longer fear the punishment and pain that were due to me, because of my sins. In Your perfect love and grace, You count me as righteous when I place my faith in You. That is the source of my joy. That truth, the truth of the gospel, is why I do not despair. The power of the gospel is why I can leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful. When sorrow comes upon me, when I face grief or hardship, let me again focus on the beauty of the gospel. Open my eyes and ears, to behold all of Your goodness, and be glad. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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