Dear God, I Have Questions

As I searched the scriptures for answers to my suffering, I returned to the book of Job.

During my hospital stays in 2021, a hospital chaplain came to visit me. She found me during a time that I cried out to the Lord for help. No one could give me answers, but her presence was helpful in guiding me to the word of God. Moving forward, if she saw my name when I returned to the hospital, she would come talk with me about God. I told her my reason for being in the hospital. She explained to me that my story reminded her of the book of Job. She then directed me to read the book of Job. At the time, I had heard of the name but did not know the story of Job. I familiarized myself with the story and found Job’s friends’ statements to be confusing. The clarity came when God spoke to Job, praise the Lord!

Now, in 2026, I came back to the book of Job because, even though some of my suffering has eased, some things still linger that pack a punch and hold me in their grip. Something that caught my eye as I read Job again was comforting and brought me to the awesomeness of God. It was in Job 16, verses 19 through 21.

Job 16:19-21 “Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My friends scorn me: but my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man, he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.” (I combined NIV and KJV to help interpret the verse better. ‘Job 16:19-21https://www.bible.com/bible/111/JOB.16.19)

As I read these verses, I thought to myself, “What is Job speaking about right here?” It sounded as if he were speaking about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The words that popped out to me were advocate and friend. I thought of John 14:26, where Jesus tells the disciples that the Father will send another Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to teach and remind them of everything He had taught them.

John 14:26 “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (‘John 14:26
https://www.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.14.26)

Look at the word “advocate” The word “advocate” in the Greek is “parakletos.” It means one who pleads a case legally on behalf of another person before a judge; an Advocate can also be an intercessor, or a helper. In Job 16:19, the Hebrew word “advocate” (sahed) means “witness” or “testify,” and “record.” This is the only instance in the Old Testament in which the specific meaning of “witness” is used. It makes me think of Romans 8:16, where the author explains that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit. (disclaimer: I don’t speak Greek or Hebrew; this is the information I found on Blue Letter Bible, when researching the word meanings)

Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:16 https://www.bible.com/bible/111/ROM.8.16)

It can be hard sometimes to compare different Bible translations because words are added or removed. In this case, the word ‘advocate’ in Job really means “witness.” But it still applies to what the scriptures say about the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, because in Romans, we see that the Holy Spirit testifies/bears witness with our spirit. Jesus also explains in John 15:26 that the Holy Spirit will testify to the truth of Jesus as the Christ.

John 15:26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.” (John15:26https://www.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.15.26)

Now let’s look at the word “friend.” In Job 19:21, the Hebrew word “friend” is ‘rea’, meaning friend, companion, or neighbor. That word made me think of Jesus continuing to comfort the disciples in John 15, telling them that they are no longer his servants but friends. In John 15:14, the Greek word for “friend” is ‘philos,’ meaning friend, companion, or neighbor.

John 15:14-15 “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you.” (John 15:14 https://www.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.15.14)

What Job was searching for was a friend, someone who could testify for him, someone like the Holy Spirit, because his so-called friends witnessed his suffering but didn’t know God’s will or truth. If you look closely, Job speaks as if he already knows the Holy Spirit/Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God. Job says, “My witness is in heaven, and he pleads with God for a friend.”

Mediating on the word of God As I considered these thoughts, I wondered whether Job was speaking of Moses, who was also an intercessor/advocate for the Hebrew people. But I remembered hearing that Job is the oldest book in the Bible. So I did a search to make sure my memory was accurate. It turns out that Job is considered the oldest book in the Bible by theologians, written before Moses was born; for various reasons, I am not going to get into that right now. What I will say is that if Job was written before Moses, then it stands out even more that Job was referring to the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. Which brings me to the beginning of Genesis and the beginning of the book of John. In Genesis, it speaks about the Spirit of God (aka Holy Spirit) hovering over the waters. Then John uses a play on words to express that Jesus was with God in the beginning. Here are the scriptures for you to take a look at.

Genesis 1:1-2 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1:1 https://www.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.1.1)

John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (John 1:1-4
https://www.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.1.1)

Conclusion When we go to God for answers, He can abundantly bless us by revealing more than we could have ever imagined. There is no one like God, and there is comfort in knowing that the Creator of the universe has given us the Holy Spirit to guide and draw us closer to Jesus Christ, so that we may love like Jesus.

I hope you have enjoyed reading what God put on my heart today. Blessings and love to you!