In Job 7, we have a deeply personal and darkly questioning speech from Job directly to God in a way that shocks his friends and us as well. Only a true believer could speak this way, and Job's intimacy with God is the only depths from which this lament could spring forth. His pain leads to his cries of feeling worthless, useless, and meaningless. This is akin to the writer of Ecclesiastes, yet even he frequently alludes to life under the sun. As one commentator on Job quips, Job 7 is "Ecclesiastes on a rainy day." Job's pitiable wrestling with his own insignificance moves into his request that God leave him alone, releasing him from the constant waves of God's careful watching so he can catch his breath. Even in his grief, he cannot cut ties with his God and knows God will not abandon him. This hauntingly honest struggle with God's silence should point us to the cross, where the greatest display of apparent silence in the face of injustice led to our reconciliation with God. Since our Lord and Saviour's suffering resulted in our most wonderful blessing, we can be confident that our own anguish will be used by God to accomplish his purposes.

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