Old Testament in a Year: Job 1-19

Amen. Well, if I haven't met you yet, my name is Clay and I'm the youth pastor here alongside my wife Sam at the refuge and shout out to her cause she's amazing, amazing mom, amazing co pastor with me in our ministry. But if you know me, then and my wife can bear witness to this. But if you know me, you know that I enjoy delving down some theological rabbit holes. I like to nerd out on some different theology matters and discuss them.

And a friend of mine and I have what we call council meetings where we just talk about random theological matters and issues. And I like to consume podcasts and YouTube videos and different things that maybe are not primary salvation issues, but I just enjoy it. It's just how I'm wired and I enjoy the study of theology. And one of an apologist that I really enjoy watching is a guy named Cliff Knetl. Now, if you haven't heard of Cliff, Cliff is amazing.

His ministry is awesome. But Cliff travels around the country and he visits college campuses and him and his son together have this ministry where they will host open air discussions and conversations all across college campuses in the United States. And I enjoy watching his content. He does a great job of explaining difficult theological matters to those that don't believe or agree with him. But as I was watching some of his videos, I noticed that there was a theme present in his videos when he was dialoguing with these college students.

And I noticed that when he was discussing Christianity or faith with someone that disagreed with him, the discussion always sort of shifted into the problem of suffering. Now, even if the conversation didn't start there, I was amazed at the nature of these conversations to end up in that discussion. The problem of evil, the problem of suffering in the world. In fact, I was watching a video that Cliff posted where this older gentleman, maybe a professor on the campus, approached Cliff and he was pretty indignant. He was frustrated by what Cliff was doing.

And he said, how could a good God allow innocent normal kids to experience disease and death and allow that to happen? And how could anyone want to worship that God if he's true? Now, before Cliff even had a chance to respond, this guy turned, he walked away, and he was frustrated and didn't give a chance for Cliff to respond to him personally. But this guy represents an entire group of people that have an issue with Christianity, with faith, because of the problem of suffering. Now, we are naive to suggest that suffering doesn't exist in our world.

We're naive to suggest that pain doesn't exist in our world. That grief or loss doesn't exist in our world. And as believers, sometimes we know that to be true. More than anyone else, however, it still bears the question, why does suffering exist in our world? Why does God allow evil to have a way in this earth?

And the theme of suffering is found heavily in the Book of Job that we're going to jump into and examine today. And it makes it one of the most theologically dense books of the Bible. Like I said, I enjoy delving down theological rabbit holes. So my whole week in prep for this was basically doing that. So most of the information that I studied I'm not gonna dive into with you, because there's a lot of discussion around the Book of Job.

And as a disclaimer, there are quite a few theological perspectives on how to approach the Book of Job. So rather than get into those specifics, I want to highlight some of the main points of Job. And one of those is this theme of suffering that we're gonna examine together today. And if you're a Panthers fan, then you know this. So true.

Okay, if you were at the game yesterday, I'm so sorry. And if you're one of the weird Rams fans that are here in Charlotte, North Carolina, just don't talk to us, okay? We need a month. We need to grieve. All right, so this is going to ring true today, but this book is a mystery in a few ways.

So I'm going to lay out some background context for you. First of all, the Book of Job has no clear author or historical setting. Strange in that way, because we don't know who the author is. We don't know where this book takes place historically. Now, it does tell us that this book takes place in the land of Uz, which was a land that was far away from Israel.

Another piece in this story that doesn't quite make a whole lot of sense. And then we also know that the figures in this story are non Israelites. So there's a lot of contention around the Book of Job, and it's when it was written and who it's authored by. And again, we're not going to delve into that too much today. But as we're examining the Old Testament chronologically, this would have been an early book.

Scholars do agree that it was one of the earliest writings that we've discovered. And although it's a mystery, the Book of Job contains deep insights and revelations into the nature, the character of God and into our relationship with him. So I'm gonna set the scene for what we're Unpacking today. There's three central figures in this story that I want us to examine. Number one is Job.

The Bible says that Job was a blameless man, that he feared God, that he lived righteously according to Job, chapter one, that he stayed away from evil. Number two, the second figure we're looking at today are Job's friends. Now, Job's friends show up on the scene in this story after Job experiences a tragic loss. And we'll get into some of that as well. And then the third figure that we see is God.

Now, God sits in this story as the ultimate judge over all things. And in Job, chapter one, I'm not gonna read the whole thing for you. But in Job, chapter one, as I summarize that we're led into this scene that's happening in heaven where God is meeting with members of his divine council, heavenly beings that are gathered around with God, and they're discussing the people of the earth, God's creation. And God says to his heavenly counsel there, he says, consider Job. He's a blameless man, righteous.

He stays away from evil. He fears me. And in the story, there's a figure that approaches God called the accuser or the Satan. The Satan. Satan is the word that we translate there.

And again, there is discrepancy about who that figure is, whether that is the devil like we know him to be, or whether he is a prosecutor, a part of God's heavenly council. But again, we're not going to delve into that too much. But this figure approaches God, and this figure says, hey, God, I know that you find Job to be a righteous man, but have you considered that maybe he's just righteous because you've blessed him? So this accuser, Satan, says to God, why don't you take away everything that he has that you blessed him with and then see if he still blesses your name and fears you and stays away from evil. And so, for whatever reason, God agrees.

And he responds this way. In Job, chapter one, verse 12, he says this. All right, you may test him. The Lord said to Satan, do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don't harm him physically. And so Satan left the Lord's presence.

So then next in the story, Job loses everything. I mean, this guy got stripped down to nothing. He loses his family. Job loses his possessions. Job loses his health.

He's struck with leprosy. Job loses everything, everything that he's got. And he was a prosperous man. And this happening, this circumstance in the book of Job, would maybe cause us to assume that the question that this book answers is, is why does God allow suffering? That would be what we'd assume the book answers.

Well, I have disappointing news for you today. That's not what the book answers. And frankly, maybe one of the best responses that I've heard, especially from a guy like Cliff Knetl when faced with this problem about why suffering exists is, I don't know. I'm not sure why suffering exists. I'm not sure why God allows suffering to take place in.

In our earth. There are different theological veins that people talk about when they discuss suffering, and there are many who try to rationalize suffering and why God would allow it. And I'm not smart enough to do that, so I'm not gonna try. But here is what I believe. The main point of this story is that we're gonna contrive from the book today.

It's this. It's not necessarily why God allows suffering. The main idea from the Book of Job is that God can be trusted with our pain and our grief because he experienced it with us.

So maybe you walked in with some pain and grief that you're navigating. Maybe you feel like you're in a season of suffering and of dryness. And can I just tell you on the beginning of this message that God can be trusted with your pain and with your grief and with your suffering. Why? Because he experienced it with us.

The Book of Job is an invitation to bring your pain and your grief and your loss and your frustration and your suffering to God. And it. And this book has challenged me and wrecked me in the most beautiful ways as I've prepared, because I've discovered the character and nature of God when we experience hardship in this earth. And it's beautiful. And there's a ton that we can learn based on this main idea from these three central figures that I brought up just a moment ago.

But let's pray and invite the Lord to be with us this morning. God, we thank you for your presence. Lord, today we thank you for your character and your nature. God, today I thank you, Father, for your word that heals us, your word that restores us. Lord, I pray God that every word that you desire to speak that comes from my mouth would fall on hearts ready to receive it.

God. And any word that I speak that is not of you, I pray it would hit the floor and nothing would come of it. And God, I submit myself to you as a vessel, Lord, to be used for your glory. In Jesus name, we pray. In Jesus name, everybody said, amen.

Amen. So the first figure we're going to examine today is Job. Now, something that I had to wrestle with when I read this book for the first time as a teenager was Job's response. If you've ever heard Job talked about, you've probably heard his response to the suffering that he experiences, praised and used as the example of for how we're supposed to respond when we experience suffering and pain. That was my understanding of Job before I had read it as a teenager.

And then I read the book, and I felt a little crazy. I felt like, are y' all reading the same book as me? Because if you've read the book of Job, there are a lot of moments where his response doesn't really seem to be very glorifying or honoring of God. In fact, the Bible even records that Job did not sin or speak wrongly against God in his response. So reading this book kind of paints a different story for me.

But upon initially hearing of his loss, this is how Job responds. He says this in chapter one, verses 20 through 22. It says, job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I leave Job, the Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away.

Praise the name of the Lord. In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God. So this sounds really good, right? Chapter one. This is a good way to start the story of Job.

Sounds really good. But then, as you read the book of Job, we're invited onto this emotional roller coaster that we experience from Job, where he's going back and forth and many places where he seems to be lashing out against God, where he seems to be blaming God for what he's experiencing and calling into question the character of God. We see this in places like Job, chapter 9, verses 17 through 18. This is what Job says about God. He says, for he attacks me with the storm and repeatedly wounds me without cause.

God, you're a big bully. Why am I experiencing this? He won't let me catch my breath, but fills me instead with bitter sorrows. Then Again, in Job 9, verse 22 through 23, this is a pretty bold statement. He says, innocent or wicked, it's all the same to God.

That's why I say he destroys both the blameless and the wicked. When a plague sweeps through, he laughs at the death of the innocent. Now, I don't really know about you guys, but that doesn't really seem like a response that did not blame God and that did not speak wrongly of God. I may just be wrong, but when I read that, I don't really feel like that was a response. That hits the nail on the head.

These are big words against God and big feelings and big emotions. And it definitely sounds like Job is blaming God here. But yet then we see Job talking with some sense again in other places of scripture. This is the emotional roller coaster we see Job on in Job, chapter 12, verse 13. Then he says this about God, but true wisdom and power are found in God.

Counsel and understanding are his. And then in verse 22 of that same chapter, he uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness. He brings light to the deepest gloom. So we're on this emotional roller coaster with Job because he's experiencing loss and hardship. And what we see here is that Job is constantly wrestling back and forth with what his emotions are saying are true and what he knows to be true of God.

Isn't this what we do in our life? God, I know that you heal, but I feel discouraged because I'm battling the same recurring health issue over and over again. God, I know that you love me, but I feel like after all I've done, there's nothing that anyone could do to love me anymore. God, I know that you'll provide, but I feel like I've been hustling day and night and nothing is working and I can barely make ends meet. God, I know that you'll guide me, that you'll lead me, but I feel like I've been asking you and you've been silent.

God, I know that you'll speak to me, but I feel like I've been asking you to speak and it feels like I'm completely alone.

Isn't this our human experience with God that we're constantly battling back and forth between what our emotions are saying and what we know to be true about God? And Job's in this place going, God, I know that this is true about you. All wisdom and power is found in you, and you bring light to the deepest gloom. But God, why are you striking me? God, I've been serving you faithfully.

And why are you allowing this to happen to me? Come on. This is our human experience with God. We find ourselves living in this tension of what our emotions are screaming at us and what we know to be true. And listen this morning, here's good news for you.

God exists in that tension as well.

God lives in that tension with us. He doesn't dismiss us because we experience that tension, but he allows himself to step into the midst of that tension and to experience him in a way that not even the angels in heaven can experience him in. Why? Because the angels don't have the opportunity for hardship or suffering or trial or pain.

See, the danger here, though, is that letting our emotions dictate what is true will produce instability and a flawed perspective of God. This is what we see to be true in Job's life. Watch Job, chapter 10, verses 11 through 14. Watch this theological statement Job makes about God. You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together.

You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was preserved by your care. That's a theologically true statement. What Joel knows, Job knows to be true about God. But then watch what he says.

He says, yet your real motive, your true intent, was to watch me, and if I sinned, you would not forgive my guilt. See, Job lets his emotions dictate what's true in this moment, and it causes him to believe something about God that was never true. And in our life, when we're in a moment of tension, battling back and forth between what our emotions are screaming and what we know to be true, if we side with our emotions, it will always lead us to believe something about God that is not true. We begin to believe that God will do things for other people that he will not do for us. God, I know that you'll heal, but I don't believe you'll heal me.

God, I know you set other people free, but for me, that's just not in the cards. God, I know that you'll provide in a miraculous way for others, but when it comes to me in my life, I've not seen that to be true. Can I just be honest? As a pastor, I feel this all the time. There are many times where I preach things that God confronts me with and goes, you believe that for them, but you don't believe it for you.

Why? Because I'm human? Because we're human. And can I just let you off with a free pass today? You're allowed to experience pain.

You're allowed to experience grief. You're allowed to experience frustration with God. And you know he's not scared of that.

So with all this in mind, how can Scripture record that Job never spoke against God in his response? How in the world could that be true?

And here's what I came to grips with. It's because Job did what all of us ought to do with our frustration and pain and grief. He took it directly to God. Job, chapter 13, verses 15 through 16. Watch what Job says.

He says, God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I'm going to argue my case with him. But. But this is what will save me. I am not godless.

If I were, I could not stand before him. Job says, I'm going to approach God, and if it kills me, he's my only hope. Job has the revelation that Peter has in the Gospels, when Jesus says, tell me who you think that I am, and Jesus. He answers, jesus. And then Peter says, God, where else would we go?

Jesus says, are you going to leave, too? Eat my flesh and drink my blood. Disciples start leaving and pouring out by the wayside. And then all of a sudden, Jesus asks, where are you going to leave to? And Peter says, lord, where else would we go?

Job says, I'm going to take my case to God, and if it kills me, it's the only hope that I got.

Where else am I going to go? Where else can I turn with my pain and with my grief and with my suffering? God, I've got to go to you. So here's the nature of the deconstruction movement. It's all too common.

People experience pain and grief and trauma and loss and frustration and suffering, and sometimes even at the hand of the church or members in the church. And then what they do is that they allow that grief and pain and trauma to drive them away from God.

But in reality, Job was counted as righteous because he took all of those things and he approached God and he laid it out before God. Because God can handle us in whatever state that will show up in. He just wants you to actually show up.

So here. Here's the principle behind the book of Job, right? What makes us godly? It's not the lack of having grief or pain or frustration towards God. It's the willingness to bring those things to him.

If you're in the midst of loss, if you're experiencing hardship, it doesn't mean that you're not godly. Job says, the only reason that I'm going to God is because I know that I'm God, that I. That I have him, that I'm not godless.

It's not the lack of having grief or pain or frustration towards God that makes you godly. And oftentimes I feel like we do a disservice to our own human experience because we act like having those things is a bad thing. We act like that experiencing suffering or grief or frustration, even, dare I say, towards the Lord, makes us less holy. It makes us less worthy of God's love and affection. And in reality, if we'll bring those things to God, then we're counted as righteous and godly when we hear what he has to say to us.

Now, listen, here's the disclaimer. Because if you continue to read in the book of Job, you'll see this. Bringing those things to God might mean that God puts you in your place.

Why? Because God comes on the scene towards the end of the book and begins to respond to Job and says, were you there when I set the earth in motion? Were you there when I fleshed out the cosmos with a breath? Were you there when I formed man from the dust? And so bringing your frustration and grief to God doesn't mean that God's always going to coddle you and say, you're allowed to experience that.

And your trauma is real. God experiences it with us. God feels it with us. Right. Praise God for that.

But sometimes we have to be willing to be humble enough to receive God correcting our perspective. Why? Because Job demonstrated that he did not know everything about God that he thought he did. And can I just tell you, Church, you do not know everything about God that you think you do. I do not know everything about God that I.

That I think that I do. Why? Because our perspective of God will always be limited on this side of eternity.

But God can handle our grief, our frustration, our pain, even if it means he puts you in your place to realign you with how he orders the world, with how he establishes his presence in the midst of our lives. It might mean that he puts you in your place, but he does it in a gentle way. He does it in a way that allows us healing and restoration. And that's the good news about Jesus. So moving on in the story, the second figure that we're examining here are Job's friends.

All right? Now, these guys, okay, These guys did not understand the assignment, okay? They blew it. These guys show up on the scene in Job's life in the midst of his greatest loss, and they begin to put their theological brains to good use. And they say, job, you lost your family and your possessions and your health.

Well, it must be because you've got sin in your life, brother.

And they begin to. They begin to come against Job and say, job, you better repent, son. Cause, boy, your life is that messed up. Boy, you must have been in some bad stuff, okay? You must have been in some deep sin.

Because their theological understanding of God was limited. They didn't understand how a good God could Allow someone who's blameless and righteous to experience what Job had. And when Job begins voicing his frustrations to God, they lecture him and they feel the need to defend God. Watch this. This is crazy.

Job 11, 3, 5. This is what Job's friend says to him. He says, should I remain silent while you babble on? When you mock God, shouldn't someone make you ashamed? You claim my beliefs are pure and I'm clean in the sight of God.

If only God would speak. This dude had a nose like this right here. He would tell you what he thinks.

Those are real great friends right there. Job. I know you just lost your whole family, brother, but if you would just get in your place, buddy, okay? If you just repent, you're going to be all right. If you would just own up to the things that we know that you did, then maybe God will turn it around for you.

See, they thought they were doing God a favor. But later in the book, at the end of the. At the end of the book, in the very last chapter of Job. This is a spoiler. But in the last chapter of Job, God rebukes the friends.

You know who he doesn't rebuke? Job. And God tells the friends, now Job is going to have to make sacrifices on your behalf so that my anger doesn't burn against you. Isn't that ironic?

Now, they were advising Job from a limited perspective of God, and they weren't humble enough to acknowledge their limited perspective. What's the lesson from this? Don't act like you know everything.

Don't act like you know everything. Especially when you're advising someone who's in the midst of a season of great loss and grief. There are many times where we, with good intentions advise or counsel somebody in a way that actually produces more harm than good in their life. And we have to be careful not to be Job's friends who say, listen, here's what I know to be true, brother. There's nothing worse than someone getting high and mighty on you when you're leaning on them in a real life struggle.

Well, brother, I think that if you would just repent of your sin, then you'd be okay. Well, here's the thing, man. God doesn't just do things for no reason. So there must be some door that you have opened in your life and you need to repent before God. And we speak out of turn because we have a limited perspective of who God is.

And see, this is the issue with the American prosperity Gospel is that the prosperity gospel loves to take up People like Abraham and like Solomon and say God desires to bless us materially and here on this earth while we live. And yet it refuses to take up people like Job or the apostles who suffered for their belief in Christ or Jesus. Now, here's what I'll say. I'm going to give you this disclaimer. I believe in the prosperity gospel.

100%. I believe in the prosperity Gospel. Why? Because I believe that when I stand before God and receive a well done, good and faithful servant welcome into eternity with me, that I'll be among the most prosperous people that have ever existed life. But that does not mean that I won't have hardship or suffering or trial on this earth.

Living life as a Christian will not always be easy. You did not punch a ticket to a life of rainbows and happiness when you signed on to become a believer.

But you signed on to a God who would experience suffering with you and in the midst of your grief and hardship. Why? Because he knew that we would experience this on this earth.

See, Listen. Sometimes we'll advise people in a way that actually diminishes the value of a lesson God is trying to teach that person. In a certain season.

Job's friends missed the assignment. They did not understand and they advised him from a place that was not right.

And it could have caused Job to miss the whole point of his experience with grief and with suffering. Because Job could have believed what the friends were saying and gone. Yeah, you're right. Maybe there is something. Maybe I do need to repent.

Maybe this is because God's so angry at me. But if Job did that, guess who he wouldn't go to to receive truth? God. Because he believed what his friends had said who are speaking from a limited perspective of who God is. See, the reality is that life is not as black and white as we want to make it to be.

There are biblical principles to live by that we can believe God for blessing even on this earth. But to suggest that there is no way that we experience hardship or trial or pain as believers if we believe in Jesus is wrong. It's theologically incorrect. Why? Because it invalidates a large majority of scripture and figures in Scripture who experience greater loss than anything we could imagine.

And Job is one of those. Then the last figure we're going to examine here is God. See, in the end of this book, God honors Job's wrestle and honesty with him in prayer. And in Job he restores all the things that Job had lost to him. And that's great.

We can applaud that and Celebrate that right. Here's what that doesn't mean. That doesn't necessarily mean that God is going to do the same thing and restore all the things that you've lost on this side of eternity. I think our definition of what it means to be blessed is why there's such discrepancy between things like the prosperity gospel and the actual gospel. It's because we mingle the word together, assuming that being blessed means to receive this material, consumeristic blessing from the Lord.

And in reality, being blessed is knowing that when I lay my head on the pillow at night, I know where I'm spending eternity. Being blessed is knowing that while troubles and afflictions may come in this life, that God will restore me to a glory far greater than anything that I could experience on this earth. Earth. Whenever I cross that side of eternity with him, it's knowing that in the end he's got me and I'm good. And listen, if.

If. If he restores things in this life, I'm grateful. And if he restores things in the life to come, I'm grateful. Why? Because in all things, in all seasons, I'm content with God.

I say, yes, it is good. It is well with my soul, because I know where I'm spending eternity.

See, God's character here is on display as someone who can be trusted with the most vulnerable and raw version of yourself. He doesn't shoo us away and expect us to wait until we have our act together to come near to Him. No, God is able to handle you in your worst and most insufferable state. And this is good news because we exist in that state a lot. Okay?

God is able to take the filthiest, most out of pocket, most unkept version of yourself. Listen, if all you have to offer God is anger and frustration, take it to him.

And in that place, be ready to receive what God has to speak to you.

But know that he can handle you in that moment. He can handle you in that place where you don't feel like you have answers, where you're unsure of how to feel, where you have frustration and bitterness and resentment even towards the Lord. God can handle you in that place.

And guess what? In that place, God will transform you. God will restore you. God will meet you in your deepest and darkest moments, where you're wrestling with what you know to be true and what your emotions are screaming at you. But God can restore you.

So we may not be able to know why God allows suffering to exist, but here's what we do know that God has a plan to remove suffering and pain and grief and loss from the earth forever. At the end of all things. That revelation says that in the end he will wipe every tear from our eye and he will restore to us all that's been lost, and he will completely do away with pain and grief and suffering. We can know that God handles us in our most insufferable state, that he welcomes us and receives us in that place. And we can know.

We maybe can't know why suffering exists in our earth, but we can know that God loved His creation so much that he sent His Son Jesus to come to the earth and experience the greatest suffering that man would ever know by taking upon Himself the sin and shame of the world, by dying on a cross and being resurrected again. Do you know that God did not have to do it that way? He could have snapped his fingers, he could have spoke a word, and he could have saved all of creation. But do you know why he allowed His Son to come to the earth? Do you know why God put on human flesh and dwelt with us and suffered?

It's because he wanted you to know that when you suffer, you're not alone. That when you suffer and experience pain, that he's felt that pain too. That when you experience loss in your life, that he knows loss. That when you're grieving, that he grieved too.

That in the midst of your suffering, he's saying, I'm a God who suffers with you, and I love you so much that I'm going to provide my son as an example of what to do in the midst of suffering. And I love this. Watch. Job catches a glimpse of Jesus. And I'm believing this to be true.

But I believe Job catches a glimpse of Jesus and makes a powerful declaration in chapter 19, verse 25. This is what Job says. He says, but as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives and he will stand upon the earth at last.

If you're suffering, he's with you. If you're in pain, he's with you. If you're grieving, he's with you. If you're frustrated, he's with you. If you've lost, he's with you.

And we can have hope in knowing that one day our Redeemer, the One who will restore all of humanity, will set his feet on the earth and he will restore to us all that was lost and all the grief and struggle and pain and hardship in our lives that we've experienced. And in one moment, we'll forget about all of it. Because we'll be wrapped up in the beauty and majesty and nature and character of Jesus.

So if you're experiencing these things today, he's with you. The Bible calls him the Son of suffering, man of sorrows, He's King of Kings, He's Lord of Lords, he's the hope of glory, he's the desire of the nations, he's the lion of the tribe of Judah. He's all these things. And Scripture calls him the Son of Suffering, the man of sorrows who's acquainted with your grief and with your struggle and with your pain.

So would you just close your eyes all over this room? I just believe this morning that the Holy Spirit wants to minister to you in the midst of your grief and in the midst of your pain.

Listen, if you walked into the room this morning carrying loss, if you walked in carrying grief, maybe you just feel like you're in a season where you feel like Job and you feel like God has struck you without cause. You maybe you're frustrated with him. Maybe what you know to be true about God is in contention with what you're feeling right now in this moment. I believe the Lord wants to heal and restore you today.

Maybe you're in the room and you don't have an active relationship with Jesus. Listen, one of the things about the problem of suffering is that while maybe every Christian cannot explain in depth why suffering exists, what we can do is have hope in the midst of suffering. And can I just tell you, not from a grim perspective, but if you don't have Jesus in your life, you'll experience all the suffering, all the pain, all the hardship, all the grief, all the loss, with none of the hope, with none of the peace, with none of the joy. But today there's a God who makes himself available to you and who can handle you in your most insufferable state, in your most out of pocket, most unkept, filthy estate. There's a God who can handle and receive you this morning and who will restore you if you'll allow him to do it.