Pranks are done on enemies and friends. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether a prank was intended to be mean or funny. My Mom was re-telling a prank some fellow campers played on her when she was a kid (putting sand in her sleeping bag). She first thought it was kids being mean, but later realized they were teasing her as a friend.
God doesn’t play pranks. However, sometimes what we experience in life is hard to understand. It may seem like He is treating us more like an enemy than a friend. It may seem like He doesn’t care or that He is angry with us, but it usually is for a much bigger purpose. We often see and live short-sighted.
As wise as Job was, he was still perplexed by his tragic life circumstances and physical torment. He felt like God was treating him more like an enemy than a friend. He took these complaints and questions directly to God.
Job 7:7, 11-16, 19-21 Remember, O God, that my life is but a
breath;
my eyes will never see happiness again.
11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;
I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,
that you put me under guard?
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
and my couch will ease my complaint,
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,
rather than this body of mine.
16 I despise my life; I would not live forever.
Let me alone; my days have no meaning…
19 Will you never look away from me,
or let me alone even for an instant?
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?
Have I become a burden to you?
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
and forgive my sins?
For I will soon lie down in the dust;
you will search for me, but I will be no more.”
Job was extremely confused and asked God about it. Our All-knowing God can handle our honest complaints, questions, and confusion. He will provide His answers in His time, just as He did for Job (at the end of the book in chapters 38-42).