ask you please to turn with me in God's Word to the Old Testament and to the book of Job. Job chapter 23. Job chapter 23 please and we will read most of this chapter together. Job chapter 23 and we'll commence reading at the verse number 1. Let's hear the word of the Lord. Then Job answered and said even today is my complaint bitter and my stroke is heavier than my groaning O that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat. I would order my cause before him and fill my mouth with arguments. O that I know the words which he would answer me and understand what he would say unto me. Will he plead against me with his great power? No, but he would put his strength in me. There the righteous might dispute with him, so should I be delivered forever from my judge. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him. On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him. He hideth himself from the right hand, that I cannot see him. But he knoweth the way that I take, and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath he held in his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the command of his lips. I have esteemed the word of his mouth more than my necessary food. But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? And what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me, and many such things are with him. Therefore am I troubled at his presence, when I consider I am afraid of him. For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me, because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face. Amen, may God bless the reading of his word to our hearts. Can we still our hearts please in a word of prayer and let's see God's face together as we pray for his blessing upon his word. Eternal God and our Father in heaven, today we come to thee in thy great name. In that name that is above every other name, in the name of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, we thank thee, O God, today for our standing. We praise thee, O God, today for our acceptance in the beloved. We thank thee, O God, today that you know all about us. We thank thee, Lord, today that you've saved, Lord, thy known people, ransomed us and redeemed us out of the slave market of sin. We are thy children, and, O God, we thank thee that as our Heavenly Father you have that care, that interest toward us. And our Father, we pray that you'll be pleased to bless thy word to our hearts today. Bless each one who's watching and listening today. We ask, O God, that each one will know the blessing and the protection of Almighty God. Watch over the congregation at this time, O God, we pray. And for any who may be ill and unwell, we ask, O God, lay thy healing hand upon them in thy will. Lord, we pray that each one will know the nearness of God. Lord, we pray that you'll put your hand upon us now for good and bless the word of God to our hearts. Do us good, we pray. In the Saviour's name we ask. Amen. Amen. Perhaps no other character in scripture had to suffer as Job suffered. Job suffered the loss of virtually everything that he had. He suffered the loss of his family. He suffered the loss of his fortune. He suffered the loss of his health. He suffered such a loss of such a magnitude that really no one else has suffered, no other human has suffered to such an extent. There were those who were supposed to be his comforters, but really they brought no comfort to him at all. Job, in this time of crisis and upheaval in his life, did not find comfort in those around him, but he found comfort alone in his God. And today, as we come to a time of crisis in our nation, in our province, there is no comfort, there is no strength, there is no help like this comfort and the strength of Almighty God. Today, we do not look to national governments. We do not look to political leaders. We look alone to the Lord. It's in him that our strength and our confidence is found today. That's where Job looked. Because as Job looked to the Lord, he found out certain things. He realised, he remembered certain things. Certain truths came to his mind in these troublesome, difficult times. There are truths today that I want us to consider. Truths for troublesome times, as I have entitled this message today. We are in troublesome times. We are in strange, unprecedented times. Yet even in such times, there are truths for us today that we can learn. from the life and the example of Job. It is particularly the words of verse number 10 that I want us to consider this morning. Job chapter 23 in the verse 10, where he says, but he knoweth the way that I take, and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. The first truth that I want us to notice today from this account of Job's life is the affliction of God's people. The affliction of God's people. He says, when he hath tried me. You see Job had to learn that in his living for God, Life wasn't going to be without its difficulties and without its troubles. Job very clearly acknowledged that trial and trouble was going to be part and parcel of the Christian experience. He most certainly did not believe in the false teaching of the health and wealth gospel proponents who will tell us that the child of God should never fall on hard times and if they do it's only because of sin in our lives. The scripture teaches us something totally different. God's people, his redeemed people, are not immune from the trials of life which are the common lot of all people. We live in a fallen society. Like many of the dearest and best of God's people are called to pass through times of great affliction and great valleys of sorrow and suffering. No man is exempt from that. No individual is exempt from that. He was Job, a man who had a tremendous testimony before the Lord, a man who loved the Lord, a man who eschewed evil. That means he avoided evil. He sought to live his life the best he could for God. And yet in the midst of it all, in this close walk, in this close fellowship with God, he realised there were still troubles for him to face. Job was an upright man. Job was a good man. Yet in it all, Job realised that there were going to be times of affliction. Maybe I'm speaking to you today and you love the Lord with all your heart. And you seek to walk with him as close as you can. You seek to have that close fellowship with him. And yet today you're walking through a time of great affliction and sorrow and suffering in your heart and life. And you wonder why all this has come. Well, we've got to realize that there are times in all of our lives that God will ask us to pass through times that we of ourselves would never choose. If we were to sit down and map out our lives, we would never choose the pathway of suffering. Yet God, in his sovereign will, in his plan for our lives, allows us to walk through certain times, dark days, in his will, in his purpose. You see that's been the case right throughout the history of the Church of Christ. God's people given to times of trouble. The New Testament church were persecuted for their faith. Peter writing in 1 Peter chapter 4 and the verse 12 and he's writing to a dispersed people. He's writing to people who were spread across many different regions because of their persecution. He's writing to people who were in troublesome times, enduring affliction, and he says, Beloved, think it not strange. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as some strange things happened unto you. He continues in verse 13, and he says, But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. Rejoice in your affliction. That's quite a statement. But in your being afflicted for Christ's sake, he says it's for your good. Rejoice in it. Don't think it strange. God is sovereign. His will is perfect. And when we see that truth and we understand that truth, it eases the suffering and the pain. As we think of the affliction here that Job had to endure, I want you to see further with me here the distress of it. If you turn to the opening verses of this chapter, Job chapter 23, and the verse number two, we see just the distress that this man was in. Verse number two, it says, even today is my complaint bitter. My stroke is heavier than my groaning. He's in a time of deep suffering. This was a period of intense distress and agony in his life. Oh, this trial was very severe. This was causing him great pain from a human point of view. You see, whenever we go through our times of affliction, we don't have to always try to put on a brave face and that stiff upper lip. Listen, when we go through hard times, it's painful, it's bitter, it's very difficult. Such was with Job, even today. More so than any other day, he's saying, my complaint is better, my stroke is heavier than my groaning. He is overcome with this affliction that he is in. He feels the agony of it. That's the distress. Dear child of God, the day you may be in such an affliction today, Maybe the old devil will come to you and tell you, well, you shouldn't be feeling the way you are. Should you not be living on top of the mountain all the time? Listen, we are but flesh and bone. The Lord knoweth our frame. He remembereth that we are dust. We are poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon us. That was the case with Job. In the midst of that great affliction, He was in distress. Not only we see the distress, but we also see the desire in this affliction. In verse three he says, Here was a man in great distress, here was a man in great trouble, yet what's his desire? It's to find God. to find God in the midst of this trouble, to get to God's presence in the midst of his affliction. It was his earnest desire to get to God. His friends had come, they had been no help. What a testimony this is here, to the real character of Job. in the midst of his affliction he longed after the presence, the peace of Almighty God. Now how instructive that is because remember God has allowed the testing of Job to take place. This distress that he was enduring, this pain that he felt, it's in the divine permissive will of God and yet he still longed after God. He knew that no one else but God could help him, no one else but God could sustain him and strengthen him as he travelled through this pathway of life. And you see, that should always be the blessed outcome of all of our sufferings, that it brings us closer to God. Well, Mr. Spurgeon talked about kissing the wave that threw him and dashed him against the rock of ages. that wave of sorrow, that billow of suffering that threw him more and more to the rock which is Christ. Thank God for those times, while painful, difficult, yet those times that bring us closer to God. We realise how much we need Him, realise how much we depend upon Him, realise it's only Him that can give us relief in times like this. Job had a tremendous confidence and faith in God. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Even though the struggles and the trials of life were pressing hard upon him and his complaint is better, his stroke is heavier than his groaning, yet in all of that, he still longed after God. Dear believer, today never allow the trials of life to take you from God. Because it won't help you. It won't ease your pain. But allow the trials of life to bring you closer to Him. And in doing so, you feel His presence and you experience His peace in a way you never known before. Way you never felt before. The storms of life, they can either make us bitter or they can make us better. And this trial, these trials in the life of Job led him to God like never before. In fact, he came to the end of his experience and he talked about that wonderful phrase at the end of this book, things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. We see also his delight, verse number nine, or sorry, verse number six, he says, will he plead against me with his great power? No, but he would put strength in me. Will he plead against me? He knew that in it all, the Lord wasn't against him. The Lord wasn't working against his servant, the Lord was working for his servant, was working for the betterment of his servant. The delight that Job had in all of this is that God would deal favourably with him. God would not destroy him or allow him to be overpowered. God was working all this together. There's that wonderful little phrase there in verse six. No, but he would put strength in me. You remember verse two. His complaint is bitter. His stroke is heavier than his groaning. speaks of bodily weakness and often the trials of life can cause us to feel so weak, feel so helpless yet God strengthens us. And when we feel we have no strength of our own that's exactly the time when the Lord puts strength in us. In Isaiah 41 in the verse 10, fear thou not for I am with thee, fear thou not, I am thy God, I will strengthen thee, yea I will help thee, and I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Thank God today he gives strength to the weary. Dear child of God today, weary and so tired with all that's going on and you feel you just cannot, Get any more strength. God will put his strength in you and enable you to see through every situation. The Lord says, I will strengthen thee. I'll put my strength in thee. What a promise in a time of affliction. There's not only affliction of God's people, but I want you to notice another truth here In verse number 10, secondly, there is the assurance of God's perception. In verse 10, he says, he knoweth the way that I take. He knoweth the way that I take. Job could say with confidence that the Lord knew the pathway that he was on. He knew exactly what he was experiencing. Every step he had taken, every sorrow he had felt, every motion he had experienced, the Lord knew all about it. He's not merely the sympathising saviour, but he is the empathising saviour. He feels in our pain in a way no one else can. He shares in that pain in a way no one else can. even those nearest and dearest to us and they come to us and they seek to comfort us and strengthen us and seek to console us yet they cannot enter into the depths of our suffering or what we're feeling right then but the Lord can. Job was walking a dark valley Job had trodden difficult pathways that he never expected to walk down yet he didn't walk alone because God went with him every step of the way. Not one step of the journey that Job had to take in that pathway of suffering did he travel it alone because the Lord was with him and the Lord knew exactly what he was experiencing. The pathway of life that you're maybe called to walk down now, the steps that you have taken, the ways that you have traversed, God says, I know them. Know them all. I know exactly every step you've taken. I know exactly every tear that you've shed. Why? Because God orders our steps. He plans our pathway. Look at verse 11. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept and not declined. Job was walking in the pathway that God had planned for him, even though it was a dark one, even though it was a difficult one. Job didn't even know the pathway. But he knew that he was with the one who knew the way. Verse 14. he performeth the thing that is appointed for me. What a wonderful truth today, that in the midst of all that's going on today, in the midst of all the upheaval, in the midst of all the upset, whatever is going on in our life, God knows about it. God has planned it so. There is nothing outside the will of God. There is nothing outside the plans of God that will happen to your life or mine. God in his inscrutable will has planned it so. We cannot understand it. God approved that way. God appointed that way. And he says, I've kept his ways. I've walked in his pathway. Even though at times that was a pathway of sorrow and pain, God knew it. And Job knew that God was with him through it. We come back again as we must do and keep reminding ourselves that God is sovereign, God has pointed our ways. Do you know today in this crisis that's engulfing our nation, our province, in fact our globe, God knows all about it. God's in control of it all. God's sovereign today. God's in the throne today. This virus is not greater than God. God is greater and God is over all. God is working out his purpose in it all. Dear believer, this past week may have brought you much pain and sorrow. Maybe brought you times of great loneliness and times of great distress and times when you couldn't even share it with anybody else and you thought nobody else knows what you're going through but the Lord knows it. He is the Great High Priest. Our Saviour tonight, today, is the Great High Priest. He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He can enter into our sorrows, enter into our sufferings, and He knows exactly the way we take. Well, a wonderful thing it is to know that our ways are seen by God. What a blessed truth it is today to know that God sees us in the midst of the suffering, in the midst of the sorrow. He is not some abstract being sitting in heaven, unaware or unconcerned. His eye is ever upon the righteous and he sees what you're going through today. Job in his affliction was able to say he knoweth the way that I take. There was the affliction of God's people. This was a truth that he had to learn. There was the assurance of God's perception. But one final truth that I want us to notice here, there's the affirmation of God's purpose. Look what he says, I shall come forth as gold. I shall come forth as gold. You see, God never tests people and never puts us through the crucible of suffering and sorrow in order to destroy us. Not to bring us down, not to trip us up, but in order to refine us. and to use us and to bring us more and more to realise just how much we need the Lord. In this affirmation of God's purpose we have a confidence. Job knew that what God was doing, he was doing for his benefit. He was going to come through this trial as a better servant as a result of it. He was going to come forth as God. Of course, gold is a very precious commodity, but the trials of life are very precious. It may not seem that way. When we're in the midst of them, we're suffering, and the sorrows are great. It may not seem that what we're experiencing is a precious thing. Remember what Peter again said, to people under affliction, he says, the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold that perisheth. Much more precious, the trial of your faith. Though it be tried with fire, it might be found unto the praise and honour and glory of the appearing of Jesus Christ. One of those precious things detailed for us in 1 Peter is the trial of our faith because it affirms the purpose of God for our lives. In order to purify us, in order to purge us, all the afflictions of God's people are not without reason, are not without cause. There's always a purpose as to why God deals with us in the way that he does. He's working all things together. Everything is working together in his master plan for our lives. Job had confidence in that. He was resting in the sovereignty of God. He was trusting in the power of God. But not only is there confidence here in this affirmation, there's also calmness. I think whenever you read verse 10 and you consider all that has happened in the life of Job, he's lost everything. He's now a sick man. He's now a poor man. He's now a man without his family. And yet in the midst of it all, here's a man who's calm. You read verse 10, listen to what he's saying. In all the distress, there's this calmness. There's no fluttering about in a blind panic, no running about not knowing what to do. Here's a man just trusting the Lord. Remember today, we don't walk by sight. We walk by faith. God has planned our way. He knows best. He is all-wise. He is all-knowing. He is all-loving. Therefore, whatever God has planned for us rests in Him. He is working all things out. That God, yes, moves in mysterious ways, His wonders too perform. I close today with those words that I've already made mention of, that Job was able to come to the end of all of his testing and all of his suffering and all of his trial with this calm assurance and be able to say that things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. He didn't know why God was calling him to walk through that pathway of suffering. As he went through it, he didn't understand it. But when he came through the other side, he realised God's working it all out. Things too wonderful for him. He was resting, he was resigned to the providence of God in his life. God doeth all things well. Even though to the human eye it may not seem that way, God doeth all things well. Maybe today I'm speaking to someone and you're in the furnace of affliction. perhaps a furnace of sickness, perhaps a furnace of financial trouble, a furnace of uncertainty, a furnace of depression, a furnace of distress, whatever it may be, look to the Lord. Rest in Him. Look to Him all the time. Use this time to be a time when you draw closer to God. And you learn more about him, and you learn to love him more. He knoweth the way that I take. And when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as God. What wonderful truths Job learned through his affliction. God knew what he was going through. And God was going to bring him through it. And God was going to bring him out better. Dear believer today, dear child of God, whatever we're going through, remember these words from Job. He, God knoweth the way that I take. God knows the way you've taken this past week. God knows the way you'll take in the week that lies before. and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as God. The wonderful plan and providence of God in all of our lives that we do not understand, but may we rest in Him, may we trust in Him, may we lean more and more upon Him in these troublesome times, knowing that as for God, His way is perfect. May God bless his word to our hearts. Let's bow in prayer. Eternal God and our Father, we are thankful today that you do know the way that we take. And we cannot understand, Lord, often the ways of God or the mind of God. But O God, we pray that you'll help us, even as Job had that wonderful confidence in God. And he was able to say, in the midst of all of his great affliction and sorrow, he knoweth the way. that I take, in the time when his sorrow was great, and his affliction was very severe, and yet he was able to say, when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Give us such a confidence today. Give us, O God, such a calmness. Watch over us, O God, we pray. Keep your hand upon each one, and we pray that each one will know the blessing of Almighty God. And Heavenly Father, today, for any who may be listening, watching today without Christ. It is our prayer today you speak to their hearts, bring them to thyself, Lord, in the midst of all of this, Lord, that they will be brought to know the greatest peace that any man, woman can ever know, the peace of God, through peace with God. Oh God, we pray you bless thy word, use thy word, continue to watch over each and every one this day and the days that lie ahead in thy will, in the Saviour's name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you today for joining with us. I trust the Lord will bless you and the Lord will be near you and that the word of God today will be a comfort and also a challenge to all of our hearts. The Lord bless you, stay well, stay safe and may the Lord's rich blessing be upon you all. in the days that lie ahead. Thank you and God bless you.