What do you say to God when your life has collapsed and the answers are nowhere to be found? Job shows us that sometimes faith is not about clarity, but about refusing to walk away even when nothing makes sense.
Job 13:20–21
“Only two things do not do to me,
Then I will not hide from Your face:
Remove Your hand from me,
And let not the dread of You terrify me.”
When suffering reaches its breaking point, the most courageous prayer may simply be the decision to keep speaking to God.
Job 13:20–21 lifts my eyes because it shows that prayer can survive even when life feels shattered. By this point in the story, Job has lost nearly everything that once gave him security. His children are gone, his possessions are gone, his body is failing, and even his closest relationships offer little comfort. Yet in the middle of that devastation, Job still turns toward God instead of away from Him.
What encourages me is how modest and relational Job’s request is. He does not demand answers or insist on immediate relief. He asks for only two things. He wants God’s hand lifted enough that he can endure the weight of suffering, and he wants God’s presence to be experienced without paralyzing fear. Job is not asking God to leave him alone. He is asking for enough mercy to stay engaged in the relationship.
This passage reminds me that faith does not always sound confident. Sometimes faith sounds like honesty mixed with hope. Job openly admits that God feels overwhelming, yet he still believes God is the one worth talking to. What Job fears most is not pain or death, but separation. He is afraid that God might abandon him, and just as afraid that he might abandon God. That tension reveals a deep and resilient trust.
I find great comfort in knowing that God receives this kind of prayer. Scripture does not silence Job’s words or correct his tone. Instead, it preserves his prayer as an example of devotion that endures under pressure. God allows room for prayers that ask for gentleness, space, and courage.
This humble posture reshapes the way I pray in hard seasons. I do not have to understand what God is doing in order to stay connected to Him. I can ask for relief without surrendering trust. Like Job, I can say, I do not understand where we are right now or where this is going, but I am choosing to stay with You. That choice, repeated day after day, becomes a quiet and hopeful act of worship.
Between the Garden and the Garden City 