Job 7:3-4

3 So am I allotted months of vanity, And nights of trouble are appointed me. 4 'When I lie down I say, 'When shall I arise?' But the night continues, And I am continually tossing until dawn. NASB

Throughout his life, Jobs days were full of activity and prosperity. He could come and go as he pleased, and engage in various daily activities of business, social, and private life.

But now, his days were filled with emptiness. He was sick to the max and did not feel like doing anything. He probably couldn't do anything, because he was so disease riddled.

For months now, Job has probably been ill, and that is all he sees in the remainder of his life, many more months of an empty life. That is what vanity is, emptiness, nothingness, or uselessness. When one cannot accomplish anything in life, then their life is vanity, empty.

Solomon said it best, 'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.' Of course, Solomon was referring to the activities in this world. Job is referring to the absence of activities in his life.

Not only could Job not do anything productive, but he couldn't even get a good nights sleep. He would toss and turn, get up and lay down. He would move around, fidgeting in his restlessness.

For many days now, Job has been miserable, and that is all that he sees as being the nature of his remaining life. Instead of getting a good nights sleep, morning would come and he would be even more tired than the day before.

Being sick and restless disrupts the normal pattern of ones life. This is not how life was designed.

In the normal course of life, one works or plays, or is active during the course of the day, and then rests at night. The next day brings a new set of activities, which you can accomplish because you have received a good nights sleep. And so, life is repeated day after day, night after night. We work, we play, we sleep.

This is the normal course of life.

The spiritual lesson in all of this is in the repetitive normalcy of the activities we engage in during the day, and the relief that God brings to us during the night. No matter what kind of life you lead, sooner or later you will get tired and you will go to sleep.

When asleep, all of your worries and cares are still there in the world, but to you, they all disappear for the time being. In sleep, we receive a brief but needed release from the burdens of the world. When we awake, then we can deal with life with renewed energy.

When we get sick, then the normal becomes the abnormal. Life becomes disrupted. Everything becomes topsy-turvy. You do not get the needed rest for doing the things you like to do, or have to do. You are miserable, and misery is never any fun.

Pursuing your spiritual life is the normal course of ones life. This is what God has designed for each one of us. Activity and rest, activity and rest. This brings health and vigor into your life. This is the nature of the spiritual life.

Ignoring your spiritual life and replacing it with your own version of life style, is the abnormal course of life. In your version of life, there is no rest, no relief, no blessing of a good nights sleep. Your life will be filled with miseries of one type or another. And certainly from time to time, you can deal with the problems of life, but eventually it will all come down on your head. That moment may be the moment of your death or the time of some disaster. But regardless of the circumstance of the final blow of your life, a life without God and doctrine is tantamount to a sleepless, restless night.

Job sees his life, at the moment, as being a total waste. But nothing in life happens by accident, even illness. Jesus Christ controls history. God gives us all a sickness in order to help us learn the miseries of the abnormal side of life.

If you had never had a headache, then how could you understand the disruptions it causes in ones concentration and activities in life? If you have never been dog sick, then how could you understand how others feel when they are really sick.

You not only learn a great deal of doctrine by studying the Bible, but God also gives you learning experiences in real life situations. You will meet people who are jerks. You will meet people who will try to take advantage of you. Of the four biggest areas of testing you will face in life, your own volition, people, systems of bureaucracies, and disasters, the latter three you have no control over whatsoever.

This world is the devils world, but it is also our spiritual training ground. This is the application aspect of our spiritual life. We study the Bible, we learn its principles, and we apply them to our everyday life.

Then as we repeat this learning process, we begin to understand life, and that understanding develops into wisdom.

We may make many mistakes along the way, but so what. If you stick with your studies, then the restlessness of life will fade within your relaxed soul.

In the midst of the storms of life, God can bring you inner peace. He does this through His written Word.

Will the storms go away? Not in this life, but being able to deal with them will give you an even greater life than you can imagine. And, this is only one aspect of the many things, which God has waiting for you in your spiritual life.

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