“Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint before me.” (Job 30:11, NKJV)

The bowstring was an idiom of manliness. When your bowstring was strung tightly, then you could fire an arrow and take down your enemy. But when your bowstring was loosened, you could do nothing.

Now God had loosened Job’s bowstring. He felt completely useless. All his strength and vigor had departed from him. And now the sons of fools had loosened all their restraint in their hatred and ridicule of Job. The young men who once respected and honored him now cursed him and spit in his face. He was the object of their cruel sarcasm. The result was that Job’s heart was poured out because of his plight. He cried out to God, but there was no answer. He felt that God had become his enemy and would soon bring him to death.

“My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me.” (Job 30:27, NKJV)

There are times in life when our heart is in turmoil. It is agitated and restless. This is not the time to make major decisions. This is the time to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31). This calls for much patience.

Job’s experience was not pretty, and his words were raw and tortured. But God still loved him. No doubt God wanted to intervene and comfort His servant. But the test was not quite finished. Patience still had its perfect work, so that Job would be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4).

Fortunately, in these times where our bowstring is loosened, our enemies are unrestrained, and our heart is in turmoil, we can ask God for wisdom, and He will give it to us generously and without finding fault. But we may have to wait for it.