Let’s make Jesus Known together.
November 8, 2026
Seeing Through the Dim Glass
Job 29-31 · Week 9
Oh that I were as in months past, as in the dayswhen God preserved me;
The Big
Question
When blessings are taken away, how do we respond in our relationship with God?
Start get started.
Chapters 29-31 form a 'but now' sandwich: Job's 'if only' in chapter 29, his 'but now' in chapter 30, and another 'if only' in chapter 31. Job once enjoyed close communion with God, and now he mourns that it feels broken.
The title comes from Paul, who says that for now we see in a mirror dimly. Mirrors then were polished metal, and our knowledge of God's ways is likewise partial. Job sees dimly too, and says some things that are not true about God.
Move dig deeper.
-
Job 29
Blessings removed, not abandoned
Job longs for the days when God's friendship rested on his tent, and he defends himself against Eliphaz's charges by recalling how he helped the poor and orphan. Remembering lost blessings leads him to feel abandoned, but that is not true. God has never and will never abandon us.
-
Job 30
Blessings removed, not ignored
In the 'but now' chapter, those who once honored Job mock him and even spit in his face. He cries out and hears no answer, and says God is against him. His view is distorted. God is not obligated to our timing, but He is not ignoring us.
-
Job 31
Blessings removed, conduct still matters
In his closing argument, Job says he made a covenant with his eyes, cared for his servants, helped the poor, and refused to idolize money. He never uses suffering as an excuse to sin. We are called to be holy in good times and bad.
Enduring Truth
When blessings are removed, God has notabandoned, ignored, or stopped caringabout us.