Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / How to Handle Criticism with Class, Part 2 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living
Transcript
- 0:07Speaker 1: God knows the way that I take. He knows the truth. He,
- 0:13Speaker 1: my justifier, he and I are on speaking terms. I
- 0:18Speaker 1: trust him.
- 0:19Speaker 2: I believe in him. He knows the way I take.
- 0:23Speaker 2: After the trial is over, I will come forth as golden.
- 0:35Speaker 3: When the pain won't lift, when every day hurts a
- 0:38Speaker 3: little more than the last, it's hard to keep trusting
- 0:41Speaker 3: a God you can't see. Maybe you've been there. Maybe
- 0:44Speaker 3: you're there right now. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck
- 0:48Speaker 3: Swindoll returns to the story of Job, a man who
- 0:51Speaker 3: lost nearly everything, yet held fast to his faith through
- 0:55Speaker 3: the darkness. Chuck shows us how Job could be brutally
- 0:59Speaker 3: honest with God and still trust Him completely. It's a
- 1:03Speaker 3: message about grace under pressure, and we begin with prayer.
- 1:15Speaker 2: We have song of your great names and the names
- 1:17Speaker 2: of your Son, our Father, and even some names of
- 1:21Speaker 2: the Spirit who works within us and fills us with
- 1:24Speaker 2: power and encouragement. And today we speak to you through Christ,
- 1:30Speaker 2: not because of our deserving to do so, but because
- 1:34Speaker 2: of him who has opened the way to you through
- 1:39Speaker 2: his blood. Thank you sincerely, our Father, for the cross,
- 1:46Speaker 2: where we first saw the light and the burden of
- 1:50Speaker 2: our hearts rolled away. And we still walk with you
- 1:57Speaker 2: by faith. We still seek you by faith. We still
- 2:01Speaker 2: long to please you and to honor your name and
- 2:07Speaker 2: to represent you correctly and fairly and appealingly to those
- 2:14Speaker 2: who have never known that you are approachable or forgiving
- 2:20Speaker 2: or full of compassion and love. And now this morning, Father,
- 2:27Speaker 2: I pray that you will speak to us from this
- 2:29Speaker 2: ancient book in ways that will make sense to us
- 2:33Speaker 2: in the 21st century. Thank you for preserving the word
- 2:39Speaker 2: of God. Thank you for giving us a book from
- 2:43Speaker 2: which we can sing the songs of the faithful. Thank
- 2:48Speaker 2: you now for the privilege of giving. We do so
- 2:53Speaker 2: with gratitude for our occupation, for health in being able
- 2:58Speaker 2: to work, and for the ability to serve you in
- 3:04Speaker 2: places outside these walls. Be glorified in the gifts we give,
- 3:11Speaker 2: in the sermon that is preached, and in our response
- 3:15Speaker 2: to all of this.
- 3:17Speaker 1: Through Christ, I pray. And everyone said, Amen.
- 3:31Speaker 3: You're listening to Insight for Living. To dig deeper into
- 3:34Speaker 3: Job's story on your own, be sure to purchase your
- 3:37Speaker 3: copy of our Searching the Scriptures Bible Study Workbooks by
- 3:40Speaker 3: going to insight.org. Chuck titled today's message, How to Handle
- 3:47Speaker 3: Criticism with Class.
- 3:49Speaker 2: There is no finer example of grace under pressure than
- 3:53Speaker 2: this man whose book bears his name. Job has been Well,
- 4:00Speaker 2: he suffered the loss of bankruptcy, the death of his
- 4:06Speaker 2: ten children.
- 4:08Speaker 1: That's grieved him.
- 4:10Speaker 2: The attacks of his friends who were once close to
- 4:17Speaker 2: him and.
- 4:18Speaker 1: The disease that ravaged.
- 4:20Speaker 2: Him on top of all that with the fever and
- 4:23Speaker 2: the swelling and the sleepless nights and the dreadful days.
- 4:31Speaker 2: And you rarely see Job losing it. If anything, at
- 4:35Speaker 2: his worst, he simply says to the Lord, I am
- 4:39Speaker 2: at a loss to know what's happening or why. What
- 4:45Speaker 2: is being said isn't true. And what you're doing, I
- 4:50Speaker 2: cannot explain. But all I can do is trust you.
- 4:55Speaker 2: The first cycle is over. Eliphaz... Bildad and Zophar swung
- 5:03Speaker 2: at him and often hit him. The second cycle is over. Eliphaz, Bildad,
- 5:09Speaker 2: Zophar once again took him on. He answered each one,
- 5:15Speaker 2: usually with great wisdom.
- 5:17Speaker 1: Now we're back to the third cycle.
- 5:20Speaker 2: And we're not surprised to read that old name again,
- 5:23Speaker 2: Eliphaz the Temanite, responded. He makes three accusations against Job
- 5:30Speaker 2: in chapter 22. Verses 1 to 11, you're a sinner.
- 5:36Speaker 2: Verses 12 to.
- 5:38Speaker 1: 20, you have hidden your sin, so you're a hypocrite.
- 5:42Speaker 2: Verse 21 to the end of the chapter, chapter 22, verse.
- 5:47Speaker 1: 30, you're in need of repentance.
- 5:50Speaker 2: I mean the gall it took for him to stand
- 5:52Speaker 2: there and say that to a man who is literally
- 5:56Speaker 2: fevered with these boils that are all over him and
- 6:01Speaker 2: racked with grief over the loss of his family and
- 6:05Speaker 2: his home and his business.
- 6:09Speaker 1: But he says it straight.
- 6:10Speaker 2: Verse 5 of chapter 22, Eliphaz accuses, is not your
- 6:14Speaker 2: wickedness great? and your iniquities without end.
- 6:18Speaker 1: Why would he say that? Look at the condition you're in.
- 6:21Speaker 2: Nobody loses everything, including family and business and home and health,
- 6:26Speaker 2: without being guilty of sin. You must be a terrible
- 6:30Speaker 2: sinner in light of all that you've lost. Correct observation,
- 6:35Speaker 2: he's lost everything. Wrong conclusion. It wasn't because he was sinful.
- 6:39Speaker 2: But Job doesn't answer. Remember, this is grace under pressure.
- 6:45Speaker 2: Job's character was so pure before all of the trouble
- 6:48Speaker 2: started that the devil picked him out as the one
- 6:50Speaker 2: he wanted to pick on. And the Lord allowed it,
- 6:54Speaker 2: knowing that Job's character would be able to withstand it.
- 6:58Speaker 2: The antithesis is true. The opposite of what he's being
- 7:02Speaker 2: accused of. The critic didn't know his facts. And by
- 7:06Speaker 2: the way, how could he have known them? He hasn't
- 7:08Speaker 2: even been on the scene. He only showed up after
- 7:11Speaker 2: the sickness occurred. He invites Job to look back. Is
- 7:16Speaker 2: not God in the height of heaven? Look also at
- 7:20Speaker 2: the distant stars, how high they are. First he says,
- 7:22Speaker 2: look up. Look up, Job. You say, what does God know?
- 7:27Speaker 2: Can he judge through the thick darkness? Clouds are a
- 7:30Speaker 2: hiding place for him so that he cannot see. He
- 7:32Speaker 2: walks on the vault of heaven. Would you keep to
- 7:35Speaker 2: the ancient path which wicked men have trod? Look back now, Job.
- 7:39Speaker 2: Look back and see what other men have done. You're
- 7:42Speaker 2: doing just what they have done. They were snatched away
- 7:44Speaker 2: before their time, whose foundations were washed away by a river.
- 7:49Speaker 2: They said to God, depart from us, and what can
- 7:51Speaker 2: the Almighty do to them?
- 7:53Speaker 1: That's what you're doing, Job. So Eliphaz is telling him off.
- 8:00Speaker 1: Tough criticism.
- 8:02Speaker 2: It's hard enough to be told you're a sinner, but
- 8:04Speaker 2: to be told on top of that that you're a hypocrite.
- 8:08Speaker 1: It's a low blow.
- 8:10Speaker 2: It's hard to show grace under pressure at a time
- 8:12Speaker 2: like that. Our God despises hypocrisy. But the fact is,
- 8:18Speaker 2: Job is not guilty of it. Well, Eliphaz decides he
- 8:22Speaker 2: needs to preach an evangelistic sermon to Job and maybe
- 8:26Speaker 2: he will get saved.
- 8:27Speaker 1: And so in verses.
- 8:28Speaker 2: 21 to 30, he delivers an excellent evangelistic sermon. Only problem,
- 8:35Speaker 2: Job's already saved. Look at verse 21. Yield now and
- 8:39Speaker 2: be at peace with him. Thereby good will come to you.
- 8:42Speaker 2: Please receive instruction from God's mouth and establish his words
- 8:46Speaker 2: in your heart.
- 8:46Speaker 1: He has done that. If you return to the Almighty,
- 8:49Speaker 1: he doesn't need to.
- 8:50Speaker 2: You will be restored if you remove unrighteousness far from
- 8:54Speaker 2: your tent.
- 8:54Speaker 1: He's already done that. And place your gold in the dust.
- 8:58Speaker 2: Verse 25, then the Almighty will be your gold and
- 9:00Speaker 2: choice silver to you. Then you will delight in the
- 9:03Speaker 2: Almighty and lift up your face to God. He's going
- 9:06Speaker 2: on and on and on with this message. And Job
- 9:08Speaker 2: just patiently sits there. Let me ask you a hard question.
- 9:13Speaker 2: Would you have sat there and let all that be
- 9:15Speaker 2: said without interrupting? I mean, wouldn't you at least a
- 9:20Speaker 2: time or two say, wait a minute.
- 9:21Speaker 1: Before you go any further. Prove that.
- 9:25Speaker 2: Where are my witnesses or where are your witnesses that
- 9:28Speaker 2: say I'm guilty of that?
- 9:30Speaker 1: Prove it. And he doesn't do that. Grace under pressure.
- 9:36Speaker 2: Job, by the way, in chapter 23 and 24, never
- 9:40Speaker 2: once answers Eliphaz. He talks to and about the Lord,
- 9:45Speaker 2: but he doesn't once address Eliphaz. I think that's pretty significant.
- 9:51Speaker 2: After all, Eliphaz is not going to justify him.
- 9:55Speaker 1: The Lord will.
- 9:57Speaker 2: So after you take the blast, whether it's at work
- 9:59Speaker 2: or in some other place, and you finally get home
- 10:02Speaker 2: and you get a quiet place, go to the Lord
- 10:05Speaker 2: and talk to him and say, Lord, you know the truth.
- 10:09Speaker 2: If any part of that is true, reveal that to me,
- 10:11Speaker 2: but I don't believe it is. And in light of that,
- 10:14Speaker 2: these are the things I request. Now we you get
- 10:20Speaker 2: three very calm responses and very vulnerable responses from Job.
- 10:27Speaker 2: Verses 1 to 12, Job answers, I am unable to
- 10:33Speaker 2: locate the presence of God, but I trust him. I
- 10:38Speaker 2: am unable to locate the presence of God, but I
- 10:44Speaker 2: trust you, Lord. That's grace under pressure.
- 10:50Speaker 1: Follow along with me.
- 10:52Speaker 2: Then Job replied, verse 3, Oh, that I knew where
- 10:56Speaker 2: I might find him, that I might come to his seat.
- 11:01Speaker 2: It's the courtroom he has in mind. I wish I
- 11:05Speaker 2: knew the bench that he sat on. I wish I
- 11:09Speaker 2: knew where I could locate him, somewhere on this earth
- 11:11Speaker 2: that I could get to him. I would bring my
- 11:15Speaker 2: case before him, verse 4 says. I would fill my
- 11:19Speaker 2: mouth with arguments. I would learn the words which he
- 11:24Speaker 2: would answer. I wouldn't argue with him. I would learn
- 11:27Speaker 2: from him.
- 11:28Speaker 1: I would perceive what he would say to me.
- 11:32Speaker 2: Would he contend with me by the greatness of his power?
- 11:36Speaker 3: No.
- 11:37Speaker 1: Surely he would pay attention to me.
- 11:39Speaker 2: You know, one of the great things about our God,
- 11:41Speaker 2: when you come to him as you are, you never
- 11:45Speaker 2: hear him say, shame on you.
- 11:48Speaker 1: People say that.
- 11:51Speaker 2: God hears your confession and he is quick to respond,
- 11:55Speaker 2: I forgive you.
- 11:58Speaker 1: I love you. I understand you. I commend you for
- 12:03Speaker 1: facing the truth.
- 12:06Speaker 2: Would he contend with me by the greatness of his power?
- 12:09Speaker 3: No.
- 12:10Speaker 2: He would pay attention to me. In fact, there the
- 12:13Speaker 2: upright would reason with him and I would be delivered
- 12:16Speaker 2: forever from my judgment. One of the things we can
- 12:20Speaker 2: learn from our God is that when people come with
- 12:23Speaker 2: their confession, there is one appropriate response.
- 12:28Speaker 1: Three words.
- 12:30Speaker 2: I forgive you. That's the response. They don't need reminders
- 12:35Speaker 2: of other bad things that they have done. They don't
- 12:40Speaker 2: need to be put on the spot or shamed because
- 12:43Speaker 2: they failed.
- 12:44Speaker 1: They need forgiveness. Forgiveness.
- 12:47Speaker 2: He says, would he contend with me? He would not
- 12:49Speaker 2: contend with me, even though he's much more powerful. He
- 12:52Speaker 2: would pay attention to me. I could reason with him
- 12:55Speaker 2: and I would be delivered forever from my judge. But
- 13:00Speaker 2: I can't find him.
- 13:02Speaker 1: I go forward. Verse eight.
- 13:05Speaker 2: He's not there. I turn around and I go back.
- 13:11Speaker 2: And I cannot perceive him. When he acts on the left,
- 13:16Speaker 2: I cannot behold him. And when he turns to the right,
- 13:20Speaker 2: I cannot see him. You ever been there? Just keep
- 13:26Speaker 2: it to yourself for a minute, okay? If we all answered,
- 13:29Speaker 2: it would be one rousing yes. Sometime in vain, you
- 13:34Speaker 2: search for some visible evidence of the living God. Wouldn't
- 13:40Speaker 2: it be great to wake up in the middle of
- 13:42Speaker 2: the night and peek out the window? and see a
- 13:46Speaker 2: little sky writing, Dear Chuck, I hear you.
- 13:54Speaker 1: I'm in charge. Love, God. But that's not the way
- 14:00Speaker 1: it works. I would love for that to happen. I'd
- 14:03Speaker 1: love to get.
- 14:04Speaker 2: Into my vehicle after a hard day at work and
- 14:08Speaker 2: turn the radio on and have God say, before you
- 14:11Speaker 2: listen to this station, I want to talk.
- 14:12Speaker 1: To you for a few minutes. What's that dial? Where
- 14:17Speaker 1: is he on that dial?
- 14:18Speaker 2: I would turn and we'd love to have something tangible,
- 14:24Speaker 2: something present, but we don't.
- 14:30Speaker 1: It's a matter of faith.
- 14:32Speaker 2: It's like the tragedy that struck this family of one child.
- 14:37Speaker 2: The mother died early in the child's life and the
- 14:41Speaker 2: father and the daughter were left alone. With the memory
- 14:45Speaker 2: of this wonderful mother. And the grief.
- 14:47Speaker 1: And the sorrow.
- 14:51Speaker 2: And the night after the funeral of that day.
- 14:53Speaker 1: He put his daughter to bed. And his heart just.
- 14:57Speaker 2: Went out to her. And he decided that he would.
- 15:01Speaker 2: Take a cot in there. And put the cot by
- 15:04Speaker 2: the daughter's bed.
- 15:07Speaker 1: Middle of the night.
- 15:08Speaker 2: He heard her crying. And he called her name. And
- 15:14Speaker 2: she said, Daddy, it's so hard.
- 15:17Speaker 1: She said, I.
- 15:18Speaker 2: Just miss her so much. And he reached over and
- 15:27Speaker 2: took her hand. She said, oh, that's so much better.
- 15:29Speaker 2: And she put her hand over on his shoulder and
- 15:32Speaker 2: on his chest. And he said, you know, sweetheart, we
- 15:36Speaker 2: have the Lord. She said, I know it, but I
- 15:39Speaker 2: just need someone with skin on me. I just need
- 15:45Speaker 2: someone to touch. If you live alone, you sometime feel that.
- 15:54Speaker 2: If you have been left alone because of a broken
- 15:59Speaker 2: relationship and you now find yourself where you once had companionship,
- 16:04Speaker 2: but now it's just you, you must awaken sometime in
- 16:08Speaker 2: the night and think, I wish I could find.
- 16:14Speaker 1: Him there.
- 16:17Speaker 2: I wish I could just reach out and touch him
- 16:19Speaker 2: or hear his words. How reassuring that would be. This
- 16:25Speaker 2: is a great man. This isn't some immature fly-by-night brand-new Christian.
- 16:34Speaker 2: This is a mature saint of God. Oh, that I
- 16:40Speaker 2: could know where he is. But I cannot see him,
- 16:47Speaker 2: behold him, or perceive him. Some of the greatest verses
- 16:52Speaker 2: in all the Bible are verses 10, 11, and 12
- 16:56Speaker 2: of Job 23. I committed them to memory back when
- 17:00Speaker 2: I was in my young 20s, and I have called
- 17:04Speaker 2: them to mind perhaps more than any other passage of Scripture.
- 17:10Speaker 2: I commend to you the memorizing of Job 23, 10
- 17:13Speaker 2: through 12.
- 17:16Speaker 1: I'm serious. I've got them marked out in my Bible.
- 17:21Speaker 2: I got a ruler and I marked around 23, 10
- 17:23Speaker 2: through 12.
- 17:26Speaker 1: He knows the way that I take. Look at the verse.
- 17:31Speaker 2: When he, that's God, has tried me, I shall come
- 17:34Speaker 2: forth as gold. My foot has held his steps.
- 17:39Speaker 1: His way have I kept and not declined. Neither have
- 17:42Speaker 1: I turned back from the command of his lips.
- 17:45Speaker 2: I have, I love this word, I have esteemed, I
- 17:47Speaker 2: have treasured, I have prized the words of his.
- 17:51Speaker 1: Mouth more than my necessary food.
- 17:55Speaker 2: I am unable to locate the presence of God, but
- 17:59Speaker 2: I trust him. Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and later Elihu, you
- 18:07Speaker 2: can say whatever you wish against me. God knows the
- 18:11Speaker 2: way that I take. He knows the truth. He, my justifier,
- 18:18Speaker 2: he and I are on speaking terms. I trust him.
- 18:24Speaker 2: I believe in him. He knows the way I take.
- 18:28Speaker 2: After the trial is over, I will come forth as gold.
- 18:34Speaker 2: You can count on that, saints. When the trial has passed,
- 18:40Speaker 2: you will be deeper and richer for it. I want
- 18:44Speaker 2: you to allow those words to burn their way into
- 18:48Speaker 2: your brain so deeply that they become like a divine
- 18:53Speaker 2: filter for everything that happens in your life from now on.
- 18:57Speaker 1: Everything.
- 18:58Speaker 2: God knows the way that we take. One of the
- 19:03Speaker 2: heretical ideas of these current days is the openness of God.
- 19:09Speaker 2: Open theism is what it is called. As though God
- 19:13Speaker 2: is still learning as he watches us respond to situations.
- 19:20Speaker 2: In other words, omniscience is not really omniscience. It's kind
- 19:25Speaker 2: of a learning knowledge. But the God of the Bible,
- 19:31Speaker 2: I am convinced, and verses like this say that, the
- 19:35Speaker 2: God of the Bible knows the way we take. Your need,
- 19:39Speaker 2: verse 11, and mine, is to have our feet hold
- 19:43Speaker 2: fast to his path, to keep his way and not
- 19:47Speaker 2: turn aside, not depart from the command of his lips
- 19:52Speaker 2: you say well i thought we couldn't see him what
- 19:53Speaker 2: do you mean his lips his word it's as if
- 19:57Speaker 2: god is speaking when you open his book his word
- 20:01Speaker 2: teaches you instructs you counsels you comforts you.
- 20:06Speaker 1: Reproves you directs your steps.
- 20:10Speaker 2: I have not departed from the command of his lips
- 20:14Speaker 2: and look at the last line.
- 20:15Speaker 1: I have treasured.
- 20:16Speaker 2: The word means to esteem, to value the words of
- 20:20Speaker 2: his mouth more than steak and potatoes, more than solid
- 20:26Speaker 2: and dessert, more than the most delicious and delectable meal.
- 20:31Speaker 2: The finest chef in the country can provide. I have
- 20:34Speaker 2: treasured the words of his mouth more than what I
- 20:37Speaker 2: have for lunch or Or what I'm served. Or what
- 20:39Speaker 2: I serve myself for supper. I treasure his words more
- 20:43Speaker 2: than anything that even keeps me alive. That's the value
- 20:48Speaker 2: I place on what he has said. Grace under pressure.
- 20:51Speaker 2: That's why he could keep from answering Eliphaz. Or slugging him.
- 20:56Speaker 2: That's how Job could restrain himself when he's being falsely accused.
- 21:00Speaker 2: He knows that God knows the way he takes.
- 21:02Speaker 1: God knows his heart. And he trusts God. Now the second.
- 21:07Speaker 2: Statement Job makes, which is the balance of this chapter,
- 21:10Speaker 2: 13 through 17. I'm unable to understand the plan of God.
- 21:16Speaker 2: Now get that along with the first one and you'll
- 21:18Speaker 2: have a nice balance. I'm unable to locate the presence
- 21:23Speaker 2: of God, but I trust him. Now the second is,
- 21:27Speaker 2: I am unable to understand the plan of God, but
- 21:30Speaker 2: I trust him. Same ending, but it's another subject. His
- 21:35Speaker 2: plan is unfolding. And I'm not able to understand it.
- 21:39Speaker 2: In fact, he says he's unique in verse 13. God
- 21:43Speaker 2: is unique. Who can turn him? What his soul desires
- 21:47Speaker 2: that he does. That's a very important statement. What his
- 21:51Speaker 2: soul desires that he does. God does not say to
- 21:54Speaker 2: you some night. Hey, hey, hey, hey, Frank. What do
- 21:58Speaker 2: you say I try this on you? How would that be?
- 22:03Speaker 2: Don't wait for that to happen. He doesn't give you
- 22:06Speaker 2: a call and say. Shirley, hi, this is God. I'm
- 22:11Speaker 2: thinking about trying such and such tomorrow. See if you'll
- 22:16Speaker 2: step up. So what do you think about that? It
- 22:20Speaker 2: ain't going to happen. If you get calls like that,
- 22:23Speaker 2: contact one of our counselors. He is unique who can
- 22:31Speaker 2: turn him what his soul desires that he does. He
- 22:34Speaker 2: doesn't ask permission.
- 22:36Speaker 1: He doesn't tell you ahead of time. He doesn't explain
- 22:38Speaker 1: why it's so hard. He doesn't let you know how
- 22:40Speaker 1: it's going to come out.
- 22:42Speaker 2: He doesn't tell you why it goes on and on
- 22:43Speaker 2: and on and on and on. And most of it
- 22:45Speaker 2: is unfair. He doesn't tell you how long it's going
- 22:48Speaker 2: to last. He doesn't tell you when it's going to end.
- 22:50Speaker 1: You trust him. You trust him. You wait.
- 22:54Speaker 2: You serve him. You keep your feet on his paths.
- 22:57Speaker 2: You treasure his words.
- 22:59Speaker 1: And whatever God desires, that is what he does. And
- 23:04Speaker 1: you trust him. You can't understand it. And don't call me.
- 23:09Speaker 2: Because I can't explain it either.
- 23:12Speaker 1: I got my own stuff.
- 23:15Speaker 2: You call me, I'll probably say, while you're on the line,
- 23:18Speaker 2: I've got several things I want to ask you. And
- 23:21Speaker 2: to make matters even more complicated, verse 14, he performs
- 23:25Speaker 2: what is appointed for me. There's a uniqueness there. Nobody
- 23:29Speaker 2: else was Job. And Job had what was appointed for Job.
- 23:34Speaker 2: And that became his life and lifestyle. Just as he
- 23:37Speaker 2: is performing what is appointed for you. And don't get
- 23:42Speaker 2: your hopes up. Many such decrees are with him. You've
- 23:45Speaker 2: got a whole bunch of them waiting to implement once.
- 23:49Speaker 1: You get through this one. Isn't that fun?
- 23:52Speaker 2: Therefore, I would be dismayed at his presence when I
- 23:57Speaker 2: consider I am terrified of him.
- 24:00Speaker 1: That's great, great vulnerability. Just say it.
- 24:04Speaker 2: It's okay. I think the Lord would love to hear
- 24:08Speaker 2: us say that on occasion. You frighten me. I heard
- 24:13Speaker 2: about one of the Puritans who was so exasperated, the
- 24:15Speaker 2: Lord was taking so much time.
- 24:17Speaker 1: He went into his study, closed the door, and he said, God.
- 24:19Speaker 2: Hurry up.
- 24:22Speaker 1: You're so slow. You frighten, you terrify me. How long
- 24:28Speaker 1: is this going to go on? You can do that.
- 24:30Speaker 1: God will understand. You're not going to go zap and
- 24:35Speaker 1: you're gone. It's not like that.
- 24:41Speaker 2: And Job is just as honest with him as he
- 24:44Speaker 2: can possibly be. It was dark inside there and it
- 24:48Speaker 2: wasn't getting any lighter.
- 24:50Speaker 1: And every day that passed, It just hurt more.
- 25:01Speaker 3: Even in the darkness, even when God seems silent and slow,
- 25:05Speaker 3: you can be honest with Him. You can tell Him
- 25:07Speaker 3: you're frightened, that the waiting is almost more than you
- 25:10Speaker 3: can bear, and still trust Him. That's the faith Job discovered,
- 25:15Speaker 3: and it's the faith that God wants to grow in you.
- 25:18Speaker 3: You are listening to Insight for Living with Bible teacher
- 25:21Speaker 3: Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to join us again tomorrow because
- 25:25Speaker 3: Chuck will provide insightful application so you can put this
- 25:28Speaker 3: biblical wisdom to work in your life. If you're ready
- 25:32Speaker 3: to learn more about Job's story, or if you're looking
- 25:34Speaker 3: for a creative way to guide your small group Bible
- 25:37Speaker 3: study and lively discussion, we invite you to request the
- 25:40Speaker 3: Searching the Scriptures Bible Study Workbook for this series. It's
- 25:44Speaker 3: called Job, a Man of Heroic Endurance. In fact, this
- 25:48Speaker 3: Bible study is part of a bundle of resources. The
- 25:51Speaker 3: collection includes 22 sermons on CD. It contains the full
- 25:55Speaker 3: message you heard today called How to Handle Criticism with Class. Plus,
- 26:00Speaker 3: the bundle includes Chuck Swindoll's full-length biography of Job. In
- 26:04Speaker 3: his book, more than 300 pages in length, you'll read
- 26:08Speaker 3: Chuck's meticulous expose of Job's story. Along the way, Chuck
- 26:12Speaker 3: infuses practical application that equips you to deal with adversity
- 26:16Speaker 3: of any kind. three powerful resources, the spiral-bound Bible study workbook,
- 26:22Speaker 3: the full collection of sermons from Chuck, and his comprehensive
- 26:25Speaker 3: biography of Job, a man of heroic endurance. You can
- 26:29Speaker 3: find all the details at insight.org slash offer or call
- 26:34Speaker 3: us at 800-772-8888. Here's something else you'll enjoy. Chuck Swindoll
- 26:41Speaker 3: recently sat down with financial expert and radio host Dave
- 26:45Speaker 3: Ramsey for a candid conversation about money, legacy, and holding
- 26:49Speaker 3: it all loosely. To check out the entire interview between
- 26:53Speaker 3: Chuck and Dave, stop by this webpage, insight.org slash conversations.
- 26:59Speaker 3: That's insight.org slash conversations. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us again
- 27:12Speaker 3: when Chuck Swindoll describes Insight, How to Handle Criticism with Class.
- 27:16Speaker 3: Tomorrow on Insight for Living. The preceding message, How to
- 27:22Speaker 3: Handle Criticism with Class, was copyrighted in 2002, 2004, and 2025,
- 27:29Speaker 3: and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2025 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
- 27:35Speaker 3: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
- 27:40Speaker 3: commercial use is strictly prohibited.