11-24-2022

Good Morning All,

       Job 7:11; “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”

    During the time when kings were really kings (1700 and before), the king would often have no one to truly talk to.  He often times didn’t trust anyone.  He wouldn’t trust his brother who may be seeking the throne for his own.  He would rarely trust his royal advisors for they too may be plotting against him.  He rarely trusted his priest for fear that the priest would use any information against him.  So, who did he talk to, who could he confide in with his fears and worries?  It was usually the court jester. 

     The court jester served a unique role within the palace.  He was often the entertainer at royal meals.  He was one of the very few who could speak freely to and about the king; others would lose their heads.  The jester also served another purpose; he was the one person that the king trusted, and the king would speak freely to the jester.  Every so often the king would dispense with one jester and replace him with another, but the jester served his purpose.

     Most of us have a person who we trust and to whom we speak our deepest thoughts to.  It is rarely our spouse as we usually do not want to cause alarm or fear in their lives.  It is usually a co-worker or an old friend we have known for years.  But there is someone to who we spill out all of our fears and worries and dreams to.  There is someone to whom we speak with total confidence, knowing that they will not betray that confidence.

    In our verse for this morning, Job goes to God.  You remember Job; he was the guy who lost his entire family, his entire wealth and was afflicted by boils and open sores.  Most of us would look at Job and figure he had a right to complain.  Job felt the pain of his life, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.  Job has three friends who come to see him, and he complains to them but then he complains to God and God listened and heard him.

    Sometimes, when we feel pain or fear, we act as if God can’t handle our emotions, our pain and our fears.  We think that He is too fragile or too volatile in nature to hear our deepest secrets and thoughts.  Yet nothing could be farther from the truth.  God has big shoulders, and he already knows the pain we feel, and he wants us to bring that pain to him and unload it at the cross.  Jesus experienced all the pain and emotions of this earthly life.  The Book of Hebrews tells us that we have a high priest who has experienced all which we do.  God calls to us through his Word and Sacraments to speak our anguish, to tell of our pain to Him.  We don’t need to carry that burden; God will carry it for us.  We need to only trust in His promises that He made to us at our Baptism for our security, our certainty of hope.  We have hope; something that unbelievers will never have; our hope is Jesus, our Risen Savior, who redeemed us and keeps us in his arms.

Father of all grace, we thank you that you listen to or heart and not just our words.  That you know our needs and our pains and that by sharing them with you; you give us hope.  For this and all other blessings we thank you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s peace,

Pastor Bret