Job despairs the situation he is in. “Oh that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances! For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea… my eye will never again see good“.
These words form a stark contrast to Hebrews 12. “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.“
We’re all running a race. Along the way we’ve been warned to expect difficulty as Job did, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives“. Yet we have an advantage over Job. We can see the finish line, and Christ on the other side, having already finished. Any discipline we endure is God treating us as His children. “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet… let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship.”