When we are depressed we remember sins from long ago, and they pile up against us as if they remain unforgiven. We must remember the assurance God gave us when we confessed, and the sense of forgiveness which was not an illusion. We hold on to the promise that ‘if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9), and God does not then change his mind. Instead of re-confessing those sins, we should thank God for the forgiveness we received before.
Constantly the refrain is repeated that matters should not be taken at face value, and this is made the explanation for the losses of a man like Job who appeared to be so blessed by God. That blessing was an illusion and the true Job is now before them in all his wretchedness. How neat and tidy is Zophar’s world, free from all confusion and all perplexity, a world in which he feels comfortable, but a world which is far from reality. How many people manufacture for themselves a false view of the world in order to avoid having to face up to the hard questions in life! The truth of God does not fit into these simplistic formulas.