February 14 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Job saw no indication of the Lord’s favour in the suffering he endured. That led him to say something he shouldn’t have: he cursed the day of his birth. Job’s confidence in the Lord wavered. Although he protested, questioned, and cursed the day of his birth he did not curse the God of his life. Serving God while experiencing severe trials was not easy, but Job did not deny the Lord or turn his back on him. Job is troubled; even his friends have turned against him. He complains bitterly, but his complaint is not directed against God but to God. He wants to know why the favour of the LORD has left him. As Job falls from the heights of God’s grace, and begins to fall rapidly, the parachute of the Lord’s mercy opens up and allows his feet to land on solid ground.

Sometimes we, too, may leap out into the darkness of the night and make rash statements. Yet the Lord will not let us fall to ruin. The sun may set but God's great favour will take us through the darkness. The Lord God who kept Job preserves all His children through every situation. We have this assurance in Jesus Christ. He came into this world as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53). Jesus bore a heavier load than Job could ever bear. He came under the heavy wrath of God because of our sins. As a fruit of His suffering we can persevere to the end.

Many troubles threaten to break the spirit of believers. Children of God may sometimes feel a massive weight coming down on them. But the secret of life with the Lord is that He will see to it that we will not be crushed. Living close to God, we can be sure that one day all the cries of despair coming from the lips of Christ’s church will be drowned out by the songs of praise the choir of all God’s children will sing. One of the singers will be Job. He who once cursed the day of his birth and the moment of his conception will join the choir of those who sing, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” (Rev 4:11) He will confess, “By Your will I was conceived, created and born.” Through Christ, you and I, with all the saints, may begin singing those songs today already!