WHO CAN SEE ANY HOPE FOR ME?

Job 17:1-16 / Keywords 17:15

where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?

 

17:1 My spirit is broken,

    my days are cut short,

    the grave awaits me.

2 Surely mockers surround me;

    my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

3 “Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.

    Who else will put up security for me?

4 You have closed their minds to understanding;

    therefore you will not let them triumph.

5 If anyone denounces their friends for reward,

    the eyes of their children will fail.

6 “God has made me a byword to everyone,

    a man in whose face people spit.

7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;

    my whole frame is but a shadow.

8 The upright are appalled at this;

    the innocent are aroused against the ungodly.

9 Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways,

    and those with clean hands will grow stronger.

10 “But come on, all of you, try again!

    I will not find a wise man among you.

11 My days have passed, my plans are shattered.

    Yet the desires of my heart

12 turn night into day;

    in the face of the darkness light is near.

13 If the only home I hope for is the grave,

    if I spread out my bed in the realm of darkness,

14 if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’

    and to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’

15 where then is my hope—

    who can see any hope for me?

16 Will it go down to the gates of death?

    Will we descend together into the dust?”

1. Job’s suffering and sorrow have him meditating on the impending grave. His friends are unable to encourage him, but rather are appalled at him and his sufferings. Job understands. He sees how easy it is to simply be appalled at others’ sufferings, being aroused against the ungodly and the sinner, holding righteous ways and growing stronger. Rather than listening, understanding, and counseling, it is always easier to assign blame, determine guilt, or enact punishment. Job understands yet hopes someone would try again; someone would see the desires of his heart and attempt to find a way forward for him.

 

2. Social statistics clearly reveal the alarming trend of increased suicides, particularly among young people - like our classmates, our friends, our siblings, or our children. Like Job, many look into the future and see only death, their only hope is for the grave. Like Job, they are crying out and asking: “…where then is my hope – who can see any hope for me?” When we were lost in hopeless darkness, someone had hope for us, and shared the living hope of Jesus. This hope blossomed, in the face of many uncertainties and hardships. Will we be the one to try again, to try and reveal the hope for those longing for hope? Hope has a name: Jesus.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for the living hope shared with me. In the face of others’ misfortunes, help me try again and share living hope that set me free.

One Word Jesus is the hope of the hopeless