Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Jun 19th, 2010 Guest Post by Sara Scates

Today’s Passage –   Job 25-27.

In this passage, we first see in chapter 25 Bildad’s lame attempt at praising God and his last effort to convince Job that he is somehow deserving of the trials he has experienced.  By chapter 26, Job is feeling like ‘enough is enough’ with dealing with his ‘friends.’  They have been no help to him in this valley time of his life and he offers his final response to them.  He then goes on once more to praise God despite the storm he’s been living in.  I find Job’s faith and trust in the Lord so admirable.  In the first few verses of chapter 27, we see Job admitting that he’s grown weary of the many afflictions God has allowed to touch him but he states in verses 3 and 4: All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. He is vowing not to speak negatively about his heavenly Father no matter what he faces as long as he lives.

As Christians, we need to determine like Job that when God allows sickness or the loss of a loved one, or financial ruin in our lives that we would remember His Word, that all things work together for good to them that love God.  (Romans 8:28) There are too many Bildads, Eliphazes, and Zophars out there.  There are too many people like Job’s wife who, when the goin’ gets tough, they say curse God, and die.  (Job 2:9)

When reading this passage, I picture Job now speaking to a captive audience of his ‘friends.’  The last few chapters, they had been engaging in a back and forth dialogue, but to me, it seems Job has left them speechless at this point.  He continues to claim his innocence and tells them how God deals with the wicked.  Speaking of the wicked and the hypocrite, he then asks in verses 9 and 10, Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?  Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call upon God? Wow!  I’m glad those questions weren’t posed to me!  How about you?  When trouble heads your way, is God going to hear your pleadings?  Will the Almighty be waiting, with His hand to His ear, for that first little cry for help?  Or, when He hears you calling out to Him, will He say ‘Oh.  Are you talking to me?’  When it seems your whole world is turned upside-down, will you have faith, praise the Lord anyway, and count it all joy?  Will you ALWAYS call upon God?  Or, will you give God a shot, but when He doesn’t answer like you wanted Him to, you move on and try something else?  Something to think about.