“Dress for action like a man; I will question you and you make it known to me.  Will you even put me in the wrong?  Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?  Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?”

To say the least, Job had to go through hell in order to find heaven.  He was consistent in his faith, but he had his moments –  just as we would under lesser circumstances.  Job went from prince to pauper in a matter of days.  His life of means was virtually crushed and he lost it all.

We worry and fret over things which we have no control over.  We  panic when the word COVID is mentioned.  We run in fear when we think our country is in the throes of terrorism.  We get upset if our internet service is down.  We spend a great portion of our lives trying to go it alone and  forget the One whose hand is in every aspect of them.

At the end of Job’s journey, he has been beaten by his losses – in great physical, mental and spiritual need – and has endured the advice of his “friends.  They tell Job that he must’ve have done some great wrong to turn God away from him.  Remember, God didn’t cause Job’s misery, He allowed Satan to tempt this faithful servant of His, because He knew what the outcome would be in advance  

Each time we go through even the slightest difficulty we may confront God in the same way.  Why me?  What did I do to deserve this?  When will my misery end?  In the final chapters of this amazingly poetic book, we hear God’s response.  If you have a chance to read these chapters, do so.  I can’t begin to describe the magnificent language.  God relays to Job, in His very expository words, the way the earth was created by Him – how He is in complete control of everything that happens in life, yet we’re responsible for our own actions.  We aren’t puppets waiting to be moved by the puppet master.  He included a free will in us before we were even born.

God tells Job to stand up like a man.  Poor Job!  His body was riddled with pain and anguish. He could barely lift his head in response to his Maker. God was challenging him again, but was He?  He was trying to get Job’s attention, because Job had been wallowing in self pity for some time now and his friends weren’t helping the situation.

We all need to be snapped to attention from time to time – especially when we are at the breaking point.  Through God’s power and majesty we will come to see His enduring compassion.  He saw our useless condition and paid the full price for our redemption.  If it weren’t for that, we would have no future in His loving, mighty arms.

Lord, forgive me when I forget that you are Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent.  Your hand formed the universe and you breathed life into everything.  You can do anything – even save a worm like me.  Amen!