TEXT:
‘I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance’ (Job 42:5-6 NLT)).
It’s understandable when Christians want to quickly scan through the Book of Job in the bible or avoid reading it altogether. After all, many chapters of arguments between Job and his three friends do not make enjoyable reading, especially when Job is maintaining his innocence about God’s supposedly unfair treatment of him, and his friends are trying to make him out to be the worst of the worst, saying that was why trouble came in the first instance. As we read the end of the book, we discover both viewpoints were wrong.
Yet, if you read through the Book of Job carefully, you will discover gold nuggets of truth hidden in the pages that really are worth finding!
In Chapter 9, Job uses the phrase, “If I” five times and these form the basis for Today’s Teaching. It’s so important to have a correct perspective of God. Job didn’t because he thought God was the source of his trouble, when once He had been the source of his blessings. He didn’t understand the role Satan played in all his misfortune. Later, Job changed his view of God by declaring, ‘I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said’.
Pressure, pain, problems and people can distort our view of God and we can end up blaming the One who is blameless! Trust can turn to mistrust. Initially Job did not sin by cursing God, but as his misery continued, he demanded answers from a God who appeared to be deaf to his prayers and unconcerned about his predicament. There are four things Job did and we can do, that will only make things worse.
1. Doubting God is interested in me – ‘If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice’ (Job 9:16)
When trouble hits, it’s so easy to think God’s a million miles away, unconcerned, or too busy to bother about me. My first response when someone witnessed to me about Jesus was, “How could God know when I was giving Him His chance with nearly 6 billion people on earth?” I found out very soon afterwards that God did know and when I called on Him, He answered me.
The Bible says, ‘Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts’ (Hebrews 4:7 NLT). When God speaks to us, we need to listen, believe and act!
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church to encourage them that God’s intervention and deliverance was past, present and future, ‘And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us’ (2 Corinthians 1:10 NLT).
King David had the same revelation when he wrote, ‘I have been young and now I am old. And in all my years I have never seen the Lord forsake a man who loves him; nor have I seen the children of the godly go hungry’ (Psalm 37:25 TLB).
Always remember, the God who created you, loves you and will stand by you all your life!
2. Thinking God is the source of evil – ‘If it is not [God], who then is it [responsible for all this inequality]?’ (Job 9:24 AMPC).
The Bible says, ‘And remember, when someone wants to do wrong it is never God who is tempting him, for God never wants to do wrong and never tempts anyone else to do it’ (James 1:13 TLB).
Jesus said the very opposite to what Job thought when He taught us to pray, ‘Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil’ (Matthew 6:13).
Job thought it must be God sending evil and his three friends thought it must be Job but all the time the devil was laughing. Jesus came to destroy the works of the evil one, who steals, kills and destroys. When trouble comes, don’t make the same mistake as Job and blame God. Instead, praise the One who is with you in trouble and works all things together for your good!
3. Pretending everything is fine – ‘If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my sad appearance, and be cheerful and brighten up’ ( Job 9:27 AMP).
The Bible says, ‘There’s a time to weep and a time to laugh’ (Ecclesiastes 3:4). ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep’ (Romans 12:15).
I know there are times when we regret asking someone, “How are you?” because they proceed to give a catalogue of personal trouble and tragedy. However, it is good to let fellow Christians know when you are going through it, so they can pray more effectively. Interestingly it was when the king saw Nehemiah’s sad face, although he had tried hard to conceal it, that the king asked what was wrong and that started the ball rolling for the walls of Jerusalem to be rebuilt (See Nehemiah 2:1-8).
4. Repenting but still feeling condemned – ‘For I know that you will not hold me innocent, O God, but will condemn me. So what’s the use of trying? Even if I were to wash myself with purest water and cleanse my hands with lye to make them utterly clean, even so you would plunge me into the ditch and mud; and even my clothing would be less filthy than you consider me to be!’ (Job 9:28-31 TLB)
We usually have no trouble believing, ‘There are none righteous, no not one’ (Romans 3:10), but don’t stop there. The Bible also says, ‘For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’ (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is the gift of God that enables us to come boldly to the throne of grace, to obtain help in time of need. The devil is the accuser, but Jesus is the justifier. He’s the author and finisher of our faith. Don’t let reading the bible condemn you. Instead let it feed you and strengthen your faith.
Finally, Job complained there was no mediator between him and God. Thank God the Bible says, ‘For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus’ ( 1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus is there on your behalf, for your benefit!
Change your view of God from any negative thoughts to positive ones and let Him bring you out of trouble!
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