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"Then answered the LORD unto Job
out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins now like a
man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto
me. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn
me, that thou mayest be righteous?" - Job 40:6-8.
When we think about Job, we think about a man who was very burdened and
afflicted. He was carrying more burdens at that one time
than most of us carry in our life time; plus he had these
three friends who were
condemning him and telling him how rotten and wicked he was.
Now the Lord Himself declared that Job was perfect, upright,
and eschewed evil. Now
saying that he was perfect by no means meant that he was
sinless. According to Genesis 6:9, 7:1 and I Kings
8:61, the word "perfect" gives
the sense of walking with God, in His commandments, His ways
and His truth. The word "upright" means fearing the Lord and
keeping oneself from
sin according to II Samuel 22:24, Job 1:8 and Psalms 18:23.
In other words, Job was the kind of man that was of such a
good character that sin
was not a ordinary part of his life, he did sin, but he
didn't want to and strived to keep from it. So the Lord
allowed the Devil to try Job,
and at first he failed. Look at what the Lord charges him
with, "wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?"
Job was blaming God for
all his afflictions, he didn't believe that the Lord was
just in his dealings with him. That is why the Lord is
asking him, do you think you
are better than I am? It sounds kind of crazy for a man to
be thinking that was doesn's it? But, people blame God and
try to justify their own
selves all the time for all kinds of things. Sometimes it
may be the death of a loved one, or a debilitating sickness
or injury, even a sin,
etc. and they get more and more bitter as time goes on. Just
a few weeks ago, we heard about that man that went into that
Amish school and killed
all those little girls; the news mentioned that part of the
reason that the authorities believe he did that was because
his own daughter had died
as a baby and he had never gotten over it. Now, the man
probably wasn't saved, but you can see where bitterness wil
get you. But, it is a shame
for Christians, those of us who the Lord has given
everything, to go about blaming God for things and being
bitter in their hearts toward Him and other people as well.
When, if we would just trust Him and know that He does what
is best for us then life would be so much better and He
could use us in a much greater way. Deuteronomy 32:4 says,
"He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are
judgment: a God of truth
and without iniquity, just and right is he." Psalm 19:8,
"The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart:
the commandment of the LORD is
pure, enlightening the eyes." Psalm 119:75 says, "I know, O
LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in
faithfulness hast afflicted
me." And Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all
thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In
all thy ways acknowledge
him, and he shall direct thy paths." I don't know why
I am stuck on this subject of burdens, afflictions, trials
and how to handle them, but I pray that the Lord's will be
done in your life. Please, let the Lord speak to you through
His Word. May the
Lord bless you.
Sis. Tanya |
in the
