Job 3

“What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes.” (Job 3:25–26, NLT)

After seven days of his friends sitting with him in silence, Job finally opened his mouth. He cursed the day he was born, saying that it would have been better for him never to have existed than to see all the trouble he was experiencing. He longed for death, but it did not come. I don’t think any of us can imagine the state of despondency to which Job sank.

It is possible for believers to experience what some have called “a dark night of the soul.” A person who is usually joyful can walk through the valley of the shadow. Even Charles Spurgeon, the “prince of preachers” struggled with bouts of depression. Certainly, Job had just cause for despair. His life had become a miserable existence, and he longed for it to soon end. Job had feared God, and he feared what could happen if one of his family members turned away from God. Therefore, he made every effort to be blameless and to offer regular sacrifices to the LORD. But now he was in the very circumstances that he most feared. Nightmarish terrors had become Job’s reality. Peace, quietness and rest had been stolen from him leaving only unceasing anguish. What hope is there for someone in this sorrowful condition? There are no easy answers or quick fixes.

When Jesus was in the upper room with His disciples, He dropped the bomb that one of them would betray Him. Then He said that He would only be with them a little while longer. Finally, he told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. They were all shocked and grieved. Then Jesus said:

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1–3, NKJV)

These were simple words for broken hearts. Jesus told them not to let their hearts be troubled but to trust in God and trust in Him. He was preparing a better place where He would be with them, but they needed to wait for it.

If you are going through a dark night of the soul, then I have only two words for you: “Trust God.” He alone will bring you through to the break of dawn.