A Study in Job part thirteen

But there was something even worse to be considered. In the past, God had blessed them beyond words. The terrible implication was clear. Despite Job’s godly integrity, they had lost Heaven’s blessing. God was clearly very angry at Job and his wife. They had obviously done something that had unleashed the wrath of Heaven. And the result was so bitter, to Job’s wife death was a way of escape from the pain. God is the giver and taker of life. He was already mad at them. Perhaps her intent was that her husband should provoke Him further, and let death come quickly.

But Job refused. Instead, he worshipped. In speaking of his sacrificial worship, Charles Spurgeon said,

“When you are bowed down beneath a heavy burden of sorrow, then take to worshipping the Lord, and especially to that kind of worshipping which lies in adoring God, and in making a full surrender of yourself to the divine will, so that you can say with Job, ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.’ That kind of worshipping which lies in the subduing of the will, the arousing of the affections, the bestirring of the whole mind and heart, and the presentation of oneself unto God over again in solemn consecration, must tend to sweeten sorrow, and to take the sting out of it.”

Experts tell us that if we are ever in a building that is on fire and in a smoke-filled room, we shouldn’t take even one small breath. The smoke is filled with carcinogens and will kill us in seconds. Instead, very quickly, we should drop to our knees and crawl. The air is hot and will cause the smoke to rise, leaving life-giving oxygen close to the ground. In such a fiery environment we should get low and do it speedily. That’s what Job did in his fiery trial, and it’s what you and I must do when the heat of tribulation suddenly traps us. It’s there that we will find life-preserving oxygen.

If you are a Christian, you have the consolation that you have God’s favor in Christ. He is your righteousness, and you must keep in mind that you have the promise that God will work all things for your good. Unlike Job, his wife, and the poor mothers of Bethlehem, and millions of others who are blindsided by life, we have amazing consolation in Christ. If you are unsaved, to survive you must repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ.

Continued tomorrow...