Lord, if you teach me and if you teach through me to others something through this, teach us the value of grace. Teach us about grace. Show me again. that it is always appropriate, always needed. You need it.
I need it. What do you say to someone whose world has completely fallen apart? When a friend loses everything, how do we find the words to soften the despair?
Well, the answer begins and ends with one word. Grace. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindahl identifies one of the most painfully honest questions in all of scripture. Why do we find it so easy to talk about grace, yet so hard to actually show it? If you've ever been kicked when you were down or been the one doing the kicking, Today's grace-filled message is for you.
It's funny how you sometimes get a song on your mind. It happened to me last. Thursday afternoon and on into Friday. morning I was sitting in my study and I kept going over this old spiritual that used to be sung in a choir years ago in the deep south. Everybody's talking about heaven ain't going there, heaven.
Remember that? Heaven? Go ahead. Everybody's talking about heaven ain't going there, heaven. Now you know it's an amazing song.
Not that the words are that significant. It's just that everybody smiles when they sing it, and they're saying they ain't going to heaven. And I thought that's a lot like grace. Everybody's talking about grace ain't going there either. Everybody's talking about grace.
We wouldn't know it if we met it face on. Most people aren't even ready for it when it's presented to them. Not long ago, a student from a college in Missouri. True story. wrote this.
I left work early so I could have some uninterrupted time. Studying right before the final in my class. When I got to class, everybody was doing their last-minute studying. The teacher came in and said he would review with us for just a little bit before the test. We went through the review, most of it, right from the study guide, but there were some things he was reviewing that I had never heard.
heard of. When questioned about it, He said that they were in the book. And we were responsible for everything that was in the book. We really couldn't argue with that. Finally, it was time to take the test.
Our prophet instructed, leave them face down on the desk until everyone. has one and then I'll tell you when to start. When we turn them over, every answer on the test. was already filled in. The bottom of the last page said the following.
This is the end of the final exam. All the answers on your test are correct. you will receive an A on the final exam. The reason you pass the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test.
did not help you get an A. You have just experienced Grace. He then went around the room and asked each student individually questions like. What is your grade? And Do you deserve the grade?
that you are receiving And how much did all your studying for the exam help you achieve this final grade?
Now, I'm not a crier, writes this student. I'm not a crier by any stretch of the imagination, but. I had to fight back tears when answering those questions and thinking about how the Creator had passed the test. For me. Discussion afterwards went like this.
I have tried to teach you all semester that you are a recipient. of grace. I've tried to communicate to you that you need to demonstrate this gift. as you work with young people. Don't Hammer them.
They are not the enemy. Help them. For they will carry on your ministry. If it is full of grace. Thinking about how some of us had probably studied hours and some just a few minutes.
But had all received the same grade, he pointed to a story Jesus told in Matthew 20. The owner of a vineyard hired people to work in his field and agreed to pay them a certain amount of money. Several different times during the day. He hired more workers. When it was time to pay them, They all received the same amount.
When the ones who had been hired first In the morning, began complaining, the boss said. Should you be angry because I am kind. The teacher said he had never done this kind of final before and probably would never do it again. But because of the content of many of our class discussions, he felt like we needed to experience. Grace.
Okay. Why didn't I have a teacher like that when I was taking those final exams. Why didn't you? Oh, everybody's talking about Grace, we ain't going there. Not on your life.
Oh, we love it coming from God, but... Just don't expect it. from fallen folks like us. Too bad. Of all the things Job had to endure, The final insult.
was enduring the graceless Presence. of alleged friends. Stop and do a quick review. When the bottom dropped out of his life. He lost his property.
and dwellings and a way to make a living. Because all of his servants were killed. And then he lost all ten of his children. All now grown, which he no doubt buried with his own hands. He and his wife.
And then he lost his his uh health. And uh running, itching sores. oozing with pus. covered his body. from his hair.
to his toenails.
So miserable was this man, he could not. Rest during the day or sleep at night. Not for very long. And he wound up living at the city dump. Place called the Ash Heap.
We're dung. was finally deposited and burned. And there He lost his hope. A small handful of men left their homes with the intent to bring him comfort and sympathy. Check Job 2:11.
That's why they left. to come to Job. They were friends. About his age, maybe a little older, maybe one or two younger. But his contemporaries came.
Leaving home and going to the trouble of traveling to the city dump of us. The town where Job lived. And they sat in silence. Staring at him, trying to believe it was the same man. That they had seen in their previous reunion, because now he was swollen.
and dirty and broken And his head was shaved. And then Their worst mistake of all, they started to talk to him. And they unloaded the truck. They judged him. They shamed him.
They blamed him. One cruel statement after another. with graceless Blunt. Words. They humiliated him.
And the book includes it all. I'm simple enough to think that Job probably kept a journal, or his wife did. Who could have remembered such philosophical meanderings as filled the poetical part of the book? And these men spoke to him in cycles, you remember? The first Round Of insults came from Eliphaz and then Bildad and then Zophar, strange names, real men.
But all three of them spoke, and Job answered, and that finished that first cycle. That was done. And wouldn't you know it? A second cycle began. In the second cycle, which starts in chapter 15.
Elafaz takes off the gloves. It's time to really get down to business, Job. And there is nothing. Even a hint. Of grace.
Not a hint.
Now, I understand. You're all looking ahead to see how many more chapters of this are we going to be going through. When I walk down the aisles and greet people before a church service starts, I like to say hello and get to know folks. And normally they answer back that they're glad to be here and/or they look forward to coming.
Now I'm hearing more and more.
Now, how long are we going to be in Job? My kids are now emailing me. Get past Job, Dad. How graceless, huh? Oh, I understand.
You think I wouldn't love it? I'm taking it in chunks. I'm doing chapters, folks. Today, three chapters. We're not going to analyze this thing to the point of giving blood.
However, You got to take enough time to appreciate the messages. that they are teaching us. Eliphaz speaks the second time. Actually, he throws his fist. They're called words.
In chapter 15, he uh Delivers a series of rebukes. These are graceless words for a grieving man. In case you wonder what they sound like. They begin with pride, verse 2. Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge and fill himself with the East wind The word himself is really in the Hebrew belly.
Should he fill his belly with east wind? There's pride in verse 2, followed by insult. Should he argue with useless talk? Or with words which are not profitable, indeed. You do away with reverence.
You hinder meditation before God. Then there's guilt. For your guilt teaches your mouth. And you choose the language of the crafty, you deceiver you. Your own mouth condemns you.
So there's condemnation. Not I. I'm not someone condemning. Just listen to what you're saying, Job. Your own lips testify.
Against you, and then in seven, eight, and nine, there is exaggeration and sarcasm where one humiliating question after another is later asked. Verse 7. Were you the first man to be born? In other words, you think you have a monopoly on truth and wisdom, Job? Were you brought forth before the hills?
Do you hear the secret counsel of God? Has he somehow brought you into a corner and whispered to you his insights? You think you've got a corner on inspired information, Job? Can you imagine a man with the gall to stand before a man? Literally shrinking in pain and unloading such a verbal truck on him, one after another.
You say maybe Yeah, I can imagine it happened to me. It maybe did. Or, truth be told, in a vulnerable moment of admission, you may have done this. with one of your own kids. Or with someone who you felt had it coming.
They just had it coming.
Well Job didn't. Verse 9, what do you know that we don't know? What do you understand that we don't? Verse 11: Are the consolations of God too small for you, even the words spoken gently with you? He saw himself and his friends as speaking gently.
Gently. Referring to God, behold, he puts no trust in his, quote, holy ones. And the heavens are not pure in his sight. How much less one who is detestable and corrupt? man who drinks iniquity like water.
Yeah.
Well, those are sharp teeth, aren't they? Having rebuked him, He follows it with Reminders of the fate of the wicked. 17 to 35. Job, because you're wicked, you writhe in pain, verse 20.
So there's pain. all your days. You're getting what you deserve, Job. Numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless. Verse 21, after constant misery, There's terror.
Sounds of terror are in his ears. While at peace, the destroyer comes upon him. He does not believe that he will return from darkness, and he is destined for the sword.
So there's terror and loss and torment. And then there's fear, verse 23. He wanders about for food, saying, Where is it? He knows that a day of darkness is at hand, and finally, distress and anguish. Terrifying.
There's this overpowering distress and anguish. Why? Eliphaz, just tell Job why. All right, verse 25. Because he, that's Job, you have stretched out your hand against God, you conduct yourself arrogantly against the Almighty.
That's why. And Eliphaz backs away and stares at him with that glare. You are getting exactly what you deserve. You are getting exactly what you deserve. The style of communication is not that unusual to those who lack grace.
May not be this brutal, may not be this. Sharp. But have you noticed? When you deal with people who deal back with you lacking grace, When you're down, they kick you. When you're struggling, they add to your pain.
When you're confused, they blame and shame, and when you're drowning, they hold you under. Other than that, They're pretty good friends. And you know what makes it just bitterly cruel? The man Is in such grief. Cynthia's and my longtime friend, Dr.
Lucy Maybree. Foster died. last Monday. Lucy had already, and she and her family had been through an enormous amount. Lucy had earlier been married to Trevor.
Got his training at Mayo's and became one of the fine Ear, nose, and throat surgeons in the Dallas area. He was one of the four. who've had traveled to the focus on the family retreat in Montana and was flying back. The plane crashed and four fine men of God. died in that crash.
Uh the Maybries son, the older son, Dan. had been on his honeymoon one day.
So Dan returned home and was in Some of those flights looking for The hope of his father's life, only to finally, ultimately face the fact. His dad had perished. The city of Dallas mourned. It made the headlines, and some of you were at the funeral. As we who loved One or more of those men reeled in disbelief.
Lucy determined that she would not give up. Her family surrounded her with love and affection, three almost grown, some grown children. put their arms around Lucy and she around them and she For ten years. Finished her education, earned her PhD, and became the first woman. Teacher at Dallas Seminary.
Wonderful story. of determination. through her grief. Wonderfully, the Lord brought to her a man named C. L.
Foster. from South Texas. C.L. and Lucy fell in love, and five years ago, almost to the date of her death recently. Five years ago, they married.
And along with some of you, Cynthia and I were in the audience the day that they married. It was like charming. This is So great of God to do this. Monday morning, Lucy breathed her last in the arms of her. Beloved husband C.
L. In a vehicle, racing to the hospital. in hopes of saving her life. We buried her on A Thursday. It was my privilege to sit.
For more than two hours, and to talk with the family who had already been through the. shock of the losing of their dad and now These three having to deal with the loss of their mother. And C.L., who had lost his first wife in tragic circumstances in a car crash. sitting there. You could see the wheels turning.
And the tears. running from his eyes. C. L. Foster and those children didn't need any condemnation.
They didn't need any rebuke. They didn't need any insulting, humiliating questions. They needed grace. They needed grace. I couldn't help but think of that when I saw Job As he sits here taking this.
Awash in his grief. Trying his best to really believe that this man who was once a friend is saying such a thing. And I'm thinking, Lord, if you teach me and if you teach through me to others something through this, teach us the value of grace. Teach us about grace. Show me again.
That it is always appropriate, always needed, not just by a student taking a final exam. You need it. I need it. The person sitting just next to you that you've never met. Or behind you, that person needs it.
You have no idea what that person is going through. If you did, chances are you'd be prompted even quicker to show grace. But there's everything inside us that turns. and we get wrong side out. Or I have a good friend who says we get sideways.
We get sideways with people and we just have to Just gouge them. Stop. Stop the gouging. I tell you, I admire the 38 verses that follow Eliphaz's rebuke. And Unfair reminders.
Job in effect says, you want to take the gloves off? I'll do it. My hands are covered with sores, but I'll take the gloves off. And I find four responses in Job that are admirable, and honestly. I do not find them shocking.
Some of you may. First of all, he is disgusted with his friend. I mean, that is an appropriate response. Don't answer out loud. Ever been disgusted with a friend?
Yeah.
I'll answer for you. Yeah.
How many times? Look at verse 2.
Sorry comforters are you all. How's that for an opening line of disgust?
Sorry comforters. That's an oxymoron. Maybe you're not familiar with the term.
Some of you are, I realize. Webster defines an oxymoron a combination of contradictory words. Like Governmental intelligence. That that would be an oxymoron. Or teenage innocence.
That's another one that comes to mind.
Sorry comforters. You think this is comfort? What a sorry example of comfort you are. One man writes, Job complains that often he has heard many such things as these comforters speak, but in his present plight, Such pious platitudes serve only to increase his sorrow. I thought I was hurting before you showed up, but now that you've talked, man, the pain is unbearable.
He is disgusted. with these people. Have you ever needed comfort, real comfort, and received a lecture instead? Job's friends arrived with good intentions, but left a trail of wounds. Today, on Insight for Living, Chuxwindahl reminds us that grace isn't just a theological concept.
It's the way we treat people when they're at their lowest. Most of us have been on both sides of that equation. Take a moment right now and reflect on who in your life might need less advice and a lot more grace. Chuck titled this message Graceless Words for a Grieving Man. If today's program has motivated you to become a better friend to someone who needs your compassion, we invite you to visit our website.
We've assembled a variety of resources to help you. For instance, we're highlighting a popular biography Chuck wrote on the life of Job. It's called Job, a man of heroic endurance. This is Chuck Edit. Best, probing one of the Bible's most mysterious stories with insight, warmth, and the kind of practical wisdom that can only come from a lifetime of shepherding men and women through the hardest seasons of their lives.
This is a book you'll return to again and again. Not only to receive infusions of hope, but to help you stay the course over a lifetime. Again, Chuck's biography on Job is called Job, a man of heroic endurance. It's available for purchase when you go to insight.org slash offer. Or call us at 800-772-8888.
Here's something else that will interest you. Chuck Swindahl recently sat down with his friend Pastor Greg Lorry for an unfiltered conversation about their lives and ministry. Two of America's most beloved Bible teachers, decades of wisdom, candor, and shared passion for the gospel between them in one remarkable conversation. They talk about calling, perseverance, leadership, and what it truly means to finish well. To see and hear the entire interview between Chuck and Greg, visit insight.org/slash conversations.
That's insight.org/slash conversations. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindahl continues our study on the life of Job, a man of heroic endurance. Monday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Graceless Words for a Grieving Man, was copyrighted in 2002, 2004, 2025, and 2026, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2026 by Charles R.
Swindahl, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
