With yet another snowstorm on our doorstep, we hear a lot of people complaining these days. Sure there are those who say “What do you expect, it’s New England”? but the inconvenience, the shoveling, the cold and the wind are all the objects of peoples’ complaints. It is New England but it is over the top even for us! I guess complaining doesn’t accomplish much except it is a way to vent the frustration so many feel about this weather.
Complaining is really the essence of our first reading today too. Job has endured more suffering than most people; he has lost everything and everyone who is important to Him. ‘Life on earth is a drudgery”. I have been assigned months of misery and troubled nights that drag on, nights filled with restlessness until the dawn. And his days come to an end without hope.
Job certainly had good reason to complain and the section of that book we read today is mild compared to much of what he said.
The key to all these passages is that he is addressing them to God Himself. Job’s faith prompts him to share his life experience with God. His faith assures him that God cares about his trials and tribulations and that he is venting all his frustration and anger. He trusts God enough not to hold back.
By the end of the book, Job has worked through all these difficult feelings and once again affirms his faith and trust in God.
Job reminds us that God listens to all of us when we turn to Him. He hears our praise and thanks, but HE also hears our complaints and frustrations. God is never far from us when we reach out to him in sincerity of heart. God wants to share whatever happens to us in life and wants to lead us to greater peace.
So whatever our complaints may be today, winter weather or more serious woes, let us be confident that God listens, God cares, and God will provide what we need most.