Job 23:17; Selected Scriptures
By
D.Z. Cofield, Th.M., D. Min.
January 10, 2021

1. You must recognize WHEN you are going thru DARK times in your LIFE.

Job 23:1-9 (NLT) – Then Job spoke again: 2 “My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud. 3 If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court. 4 I would lay out my case and present my arguments. 5 Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me. 6 Would he use his great power to argue with me? No, he would give me a fair hearing. 7 Honest people can reason with him, so I would be forever acquitted by my judge. 8 I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. 9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed.

Job 23:17 (NLT) – Darkness is all around me; thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.

Darkness –

Job 1:1 (ESV) – There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

Job 1:6-8 (ESV) – Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro
on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”

James 1:2 (ESV) – Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

Questions to Consider

1. What do you think most people consider the darkest time in their life?
2. How do you think most people respond to suffering?
3. Who, if anyone, do people typically blame when they go through dark times?
4. How do you know when you are in dark times?
5. What are some things that can cause you to get to a dark place?
6. What’s the difference between walking around in dark times and walking through dark times?
7. Do you find any encouragement in knowing The LORD knows what you are going thru?
8. Can you look back over your life and see something good that came out of going through a dark time in your life? Explain
9. How can trusting and obeying God help you get through dark times?
10. Is trusting and obeying God in dark times easy or difficult? Explain
11. Why do you think God allows some evil to go unpunished and some suffering to go unexplained?
12. What action(s) do you need to take when you find yourself in a time of darkness?