~ Day Twenty-Seven ~

The Lord permitted His servant's suffering, so that he could lay hold of eternal truths that would enable him to stand in his hour of trial, and also provide a powerful testimony of endurance in the midst of undeserved suffering that would bless and benefit future generations of believers and help them to stand firmly upon the truth of God's Word. May we learn the lessons the Lord would have us glean from Job's story, which is the story of the ultimate suffering Servant, Jesus Christ; Who, as heaven's crowned Jewel and eternal Treasure, endured all our griefs and afflictions, was bruised and stricken for all our transgressions and iniquities on the Cross, and buried in a rich man's tomb, then gloriously resurrected from the grave, having unlocked heaven's treasury to bestow upon mankind the wealth of His Kingdom (Isaiah 53)! "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one come to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). May we steward with great care and diligence this priceless treasure that has been deposited in our hearts by grace through faith, by spending more time in the Scriptures and growing in the truth!

Job held his tongue while his friends gave him a thorough tongue-lashing with theirs. Despite all their attempts to get him to agree with them, Job would not utter a lie, defend himself, or speak evil in the sight of God. He walked with integrity and used the words from his mouth to bring honor and glory to the Lord. As the Lord knew His servant would! Job knew that his accusers were wrong in their understanding of his situation, therefore he would not submit to the pressure and speak words that were untrue just to rescue himself and put a stop the abuse. "My lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit" (v. 4). Instead, he turned the tables on them and explained the judgment that would eventually come upon the wicked and the vindication that would one day be his. Therefore they should be careful not to judge, lest they themselves be judged (Matthew 7:1, 2)! "This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty" (v. 13). We find this played out in the stories of Esther and Daniel, where those who had plotted evil against God's people had that evil turned on their own heads (Esther 9:25; Daniel 6:24). In addition, all that the wicked have accumulated for themselves will be given to the righteous whom they intended to destroy (Job 27:16, 17)! "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20). May we follow Job's leading and keep our tongues for truth and our lips for integrity - knowing that this littlest member of our body holds the greatest power for good or evil (James 3:5)! "Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so" (James 3:10). May we commit to spending our days filling our hearts and minds with the truth found in the Scriptures, so that out of the overflow of our hearts will pour forth a continual stream of truth and a perpetual song of praise to the Lord! "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts" (Psalm 51:6). "Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Psalm 34:3).

The darker the days became and the more difficult things got, the higher Job's thoughts rose toward God. No matter how hard his friends pressed him to look at the disaster of his situation and acknowledge the wickedness of his own heart, Job could not be convinced to turn his attention away from God. His eyes were firmly fixed on heaven, he would not look upon lesser things that would pollute his heart with impure thoughts toward God. Every word he uttered in response to his friends revealed the One who had captured his attention and captivated his heart: "As God lives...and the Almighty...the breath of God...If God...will God hear...delight himself in the Almighty...always call on God...the hand of God...the Almighty I will not conceal...with God...received from the Almighty" (vs. 2, 3, 8-11, 13). Job grieved the loss of his children, his livelihood, his health, and his reputation; and he endured the endless, heartless rebukes of his friends and rejection of his neighbors, but he was able to keep going because his focus was on the Lord, not his circumstances. No difficulty or difficult person would deter him from maintaining the true priority of his life: his intimate, abiding love relationship with the Lord. The Lord was the true desire of his heart, not the temporary things of this earth. He held lightly to the world, and tightly to the Lord. "My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live" (v. 6). Job would not be tempted to sacrifice his integrity just to avoid having to endure persecution and being wrongly accused (Matthew 5:11, 12); he cared more about God's reputation and protecting the high honor of God, and advancing God's purposes in the world. "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Our worldview makes all the difference in how we live our lives. If we have a strong biblical worldview like Job, then we will be able to face any challenge while holding onto our integrity, and truth will triumph! Let us make every effort to know our God and to stand on the truth of His Word, so we will know what we believe and not be taking captive by the deceptive philosphy of this world or be so easily led astray by false teachers who are not proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:8; 1 John 4:1-6)!

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that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful" (James 5:10).

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