Longing For Sleep But Finding No Rest

Job 7

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When I say, My bed shall comfort me,

My couch shall ease my complaint;

14 Then thou scarest me with dreams,

And terrifiest me through visions:

15 So that my soul chooseth strangling,

And death rather than my life.

16 I loathe it; I would not live alway:

Let me alone; for my days are vanity.

Job 7:13-16

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Have you ever experienced this? Have you ever experienced a time when life has beat you down and all you want to do is go to sleep? Not because you are necessarily tired, but because it is a break from all the stress and pressure. I have. This is a desire for sleep so that we are not thinking, not feeling, and not hurting. That is where Job is today. After his remarks in chapter 6, Job expresses his heart's desire for relief. He is in anguish and wants his friends to understand that.

I have been at points in my life where I simply wanted someone to be there with me. I wanted their words to comfort, not condemn. In my situation, I did not need others to condemn me, I was doing an excellent job of that myself. My situation was entirely different from Job's but some of the desires for respite were the same. When people are hurting, condemnation does not accomplish anything. True, in some situation, there is a need for correction and understanding that the suffering is self-inflicted. However, approach goes a long way in accomplishing this. You will never condemn or criticize someone into productive change.

Job says in verse 13, "When I say, My bed shall comfort me, My couch shall ease my complaint". This expresses his desire for relief from sleep. Again, while I merged my experiences with Job's, I do want to reiterate that Job's suffering was not of his own doing. There was a struggle going on in the spiritual realm, and Job was collateral damage. Satan was trying to prove a point, but God was going to win the day; Job would be the better for being involved.

In verse 14, Job conveys the problem he is having with sleep. He says, "Then thou scarest me with dreams, And terrifiest me through visions". Even in sleep, he is not getting a relief from his suffering. His physical and emotional pains torment him while he is awake, and his dreams are tormenting him in sleep. Job is in a place in his life where every moment of every day is agony. Is it any wonder that he longs for death?

As a matter of fact, that is exactly what he expresses in the next two verses. Job continues, "So that my soul chooseth strangling, And death rather than my life. 16 I loathe it; I would not live alway: Let me alone; for my days are vanity." Job tells his friends that he prefers death to continued life. He again expresses that he loathes or hates his life. It seems as though we has humans go from one extreme to the other. When things are good, we cling to and fight for life. However, when hope seems lost, we would freely give it up. Despair and hopelessness have a way of devaluing that which we once clung to so tightly.

I am reminded of a hymn we sang in church when I was a child. The song is "Stand By Me" by Charles Albert Tindley. Verse 5 of that song fits this season of Job's life so well. I can almost picture him singing it, as he lays in misery.

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When I’m growing old and feeble,

Stand by me (stand by me);

When I’m growing old and feeble,

Stand by me (stand by me);

When my life becomes a burden,

And I’m nearing chilly Jordan,

O Thou “Lily of the Valley,”

Stand by me (stand by me).

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Perhaps you are in a season of your life where you feel like Job. I pray that you do not have friends who speak to you as Job's friends did to him. Perhaps you have a friend who is in a season of their life like Job. I pray that you and I do not treat them as Job's friends treated him. There is something to be said of the simple line "stand by me". It doesn't say "speak to me", "chastise me", "rebuke me", "criticize me", "tell me how everything is my fault", or "lecture me". The desire is simply for presence. Just being there through the trials and burdens is a great comfort. This is a hard lesson for us to learn when dealing with those who are suffering.

Father help me to not judge those who are suffering. Even if their suffering is of their own making, help me to love and encourage people through their suffering. Help me to learn to be an encouraging presence. Give me wisdom to know when to speak and not to speak.