Beginning from the end

May the day perish on which I was born. – Job 3:3

At age 30 she was ready to give up. She wrote in her diary, "My God, what will become of me? I have no desire but to die." But the dark clouds of despair gave way to the light, and in time she discovered a new purpose for living. When she died at age 90, she had left her mark on history. Some believe that she and those who introduced antiseptics and chloroform to medicine did more than anyone to relieve human suffering in the 19th century. Her name was Florence Nightingale, founder of the nursing profession.

Job went so far as to wish he had never been born (3:1-3). But thank God, he didn’t end his life. Just as Florence Nightingale came out of her depression and found ways to help others, so to Job lived through his grief, and his experience has become a source of endless comfort to suffering souls.

Maybe you’re at the point of not wanting to go on. Being God’s child intensifies your desperation, for you wonder how a believer could feel so alone and forsaken. Don’t give up. Coming to the end of yourself emotionally could be the most painful experience you’ve ever encountered. But take courage. Cling to the Lord in faith and start all over. God can use this kind of "beginning from the end." – Mart De Haan

Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish –
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish:
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. – Moore

READ: Job 3:20-26

In Christ, the hopeless find hope.

The Bible in one year:

•Psalm 4-6
•Acts 17:16-34