Help in the Heap

by Rev. Howard Rosen, Jr
(Dillwyn, Va)

Pleasant Grove Baptist

Job 2:1-10 – Why do the godly suffer?
We find our friend Job again being attacked by Satan; he woke up with sores on his body went to the trash heap and began to scrape his sores. He was broken full of sorrow and horror of what had happen to him. He just wanted to get away, partly to keep form harming someone else, but also to seek God. Sometimes we need to go to the heap and look for God’s way when trouble comes.

We know that Satan is our Adversary and will do all he can to destroy us and we can be sure when we are in such a mess Satan will send a messenger to try and make the mess worse by confusing our thinking. We need to be aware of this trick and what we see in our text today will help us to seek the right kind of help when we are in a heap.

I have heard many preachers give Job’s wife a real hard time and while studying this I find not many people have much good to say about her, but let’s take a closer look at what this story tells us about her.

First off she could have left, she had lost her family too, and she had lost all the things that provided for her life, she could have said my stuff is gone, so am I; goodbye Job! Naturally she was upset and started to lose faith and began to question what was happening to her husband and wonders what was going on in his mind. So she walks down to the heap and starts to talk; not a bad idea, but she made some very common mistakes that we all need to see when we look for help in our life.

I. Place Satan’s Way First – Curse God and die. This was Satan’s goal.

1. Are you crazy Job? What are you thinking? Have you lost your mind?

2. She knew Job’s character, she knew he was a righteous man, but this was too far!

3. She knew her husband was hurting and she wanted it to end. Give up Job no need to serve God now. She wanted to help but went about it the wrong way.

4. She let Satan use her as a messenger to try and bring Job down. Just as he used Eve to tempt Adam. Doesn’t he do that with us? He will use the ones we love the most to say hurtful things and get us to turn from God.

No they don’t mean to but they are being used by him nevertheless, and when it happens we are many times caught in his snare before we even realize that we have left the place of trust that God wanted to us to stay in so we could learn how to trust Him.

II. Place Our Goals Before God’s – Forgetting God’s plan.

1. Her advice was exactly what Satan wanted, to keep Job from serving God.

2. Her goal was what she wanted, what she needed, get this done so I can move on.

3. Her thoughts were not on others, not looking for the needs of others first.

4. Don’t we do that? When we try to manipulate others to get what we think God wants for us, and not trusting His way and waiting on His timing. Yes we do! Then we began to fear and to fret and say things we are sorry for because we are afraid that it is not going to work out our way.

My friends we need a new commitment to really letting go and letting God be God in all matters of our life, and when we do we will see Him work in mighty ways.

III. Place Our Will Above God’s Will – My Way!

1. When we place what we want over anything else, my happiness, my things, my dreams, my way not God’s way. We are stuck!

2. When we fail to see that we are here to please God, and not for God to pleas us. We will never grow if we keep this attitude, it is selfish and childish.

3. When we think happiness ends with self, we will never find it. Only through surrender to Christ and His goals for us do we find true happiness.

VI. Place Wicked Advice Above God’s – As a foolish woman.

1. Job says honey you talk like someone that doesn’t know God. This doesn’t sound like you; you aren’t acting normal you aren’t thinking right under this stress.

2. He may seem hard, but no he was steadfast, not rigid or cold. He was standing on truth, trusting in a God stronger that the circumstances they we facing.

3. He rejected her advice, but he didn’t reject her. Notice he says (shall we) receive good at the hand of God and (shall we) not receive evil? He knew she was hurting, he knew she was afraid and tried to give her comfort in the only way he could at the time. He simply said it is you and me baby, good or evil God is still the one we trust, He is still in control, we will serve Him!

4. We may find this woman sad, fusing and hurt, but again she didn’t leave, she is there till the end. Friends beware of those that say they want to help, but are trying to get you to quit on God, quit on your home, quit on your church.

They may be people you love and they think they are helping you, but don’t we see the real help in the heap is when we just trust God. Place all your trust in Him; place all your troubles in Him. Place all you’re your heart in Him. And maybe we can say with Job we did not sin with our lips.

We all know suffering; we all know long nights and days of being in a heap before God. But when we seek the right advice, the right answers, the right godly counsel, then we can find help we need.