On Being a Whiny-Baby

Scripture: Job 35-36; 1 Cor. 7-8

Job 36:20
But those who learn from their suffering,
   God delivers from their suffering.

Observation: Such a difficult lesson. For me, “deliver” is defined not in terms of God taking away the circumstances which have precipitated the suffering. It means, instead, that the situation becomes bearable and a kind of clarity comes forward in my thinking. Elihu is firing in the dark, from what I’ve seen of his theological discourses, but he’s found the mark here, probably by accident.

Application: Recognize that suffering and deliverance mean different things to different folks. While all suffering must be recognized and honored, there is a boundary past which “honoring suffering” becomes self-pity. Once the lessons have been made clear, then the suffering becomes a teacher, a source of wisdom.

Prayer: In my moments of suffering God, I pray that I’m not being too much of a whiny-baby. I want Your wisdom to come to me, but I’m not very good at enduring hardship–at least not as good as I’d like to be. I’m sorry for the self-pity. Remind me of your Son’s suffering so that I have some semblence of what real suffering means. For His sake I pray these things, amen.