I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart. (Psalm 32:5, 10-11)

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. (Proverbs 28:13)

Have I covered my transgressions like Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom?  (Job 31:33)

Have you ever gone through life covering your transgressions? Have you hidden them for fear of rebuke or embarrassment? Have you questioned God when times got tough or did not go as you had planned?

We are not alone.

I was in a play during my junior year of college. The play was called J.B. and it was based on the story of Job in the Bible. My roommate challenged me to try out for the part and I didn’t have much else to do, so I auditioned. I landed two very small parts…one of a beggar and the other as a police officer. One of the requirements of this play was for the cast to read the entire book of Job as it related to how we would portray this story to the audience. So, I read Job that time in a different light.

I was reminded that Job was not a superhero. He was a mere human. He was a human being who felt so close to God that he could be honest with him. It was to the point that as he questioned God his friends mocked him. He poured out his soul as he lost everything he had on this earth and asked, “Have I covered my transgressions like Adam?”  In today’s terms it would sound more like, “Really, is there something I’m missing? I feel I’ve done everything I’ve been supposed to be doing. I’m the person God would have me to be. Yet, everything I’ve been blessed with on this earth has now been taken away from me. Did I miss something? What have I done wrong?”

You see, Job had friends who were trying to help him. The key word there is “trying”. Job was desperately telling them he didn’t think he had done anything wrong, but they were sure he needed their counsel. Obviously they knew something he didn’t as they were not losing everything in their lives and Job was. Have you ever felt like Job? Have you looked around at your life through difficult days and wondered, “Have I covered my transgressions?” Did I do something wrong, God, that you’re trying to get my attention?

And, what about the times where you felt you and God were just fine, but then there were the friends who came along to help. Do you have some of those friends in your life who like to help you solve your problems? These are the friends that seem to complicate issues when you are trying to figure everything out. Even as you listen to them, you know deep down you don’t owe them an explanation, but you are compelled to give one for some reason.

Now, let’s be really honest. Have you ever been one of those “friends” to someone else? Do you see your friend in trouble and instantly jump to help him. When you get there, though, the situation is far worse than you could ever imagine and you immediately begin coming up with reasons as to why this could be happening. Job’s friends were not just people who came up off the street to help. They were God-fearing men. These men wanted to set Job straight. They were also men who were later instructed to bring an offering before God and for Job to pray for these men. You see, they were trying to represent God to Job, but instead, they were interjecting their personal beliefs and ideas upon Job.

I fear we are all too guilty of doing this before we even think. We feel we know something that can make someone else’s life better, so we interject our thoughts and opinions upon the situation without Godly counsel. For Job, this was a time when he needed God and not those pretending to be of God. There are many who feel they’ve been abandoned by God whether or not their lives mimic that of Job. Even when it’s tempting to open our mouths and ridicule, we must show and extend God’s grace to those around us. In the same fashion, we must bathe our words and thoughts in God’s words and thoughts. We must be God’s agents and not our own. May we be the empowered people of God to a dying and hurting world of Jobs.

© 2012 Susan M. Sims

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at freedigitalphotos.net

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