Tuesday Reading: Job 5:19
Key Verse: Job 5:19
19 He will deliver you in six troubles; yea, in seven no evil shall touch you.
Devotion:
When Job lost everything in his life a couple of friends came over to try to comfort him and to figure out what had happened. This is something normal and something we have to expect – when things go wrong we try to figure out some sort of closure so we can either apportion blame of at least know that there is no blame to be held. When Eliphaz answered Job he turned the blame back on Job saying that Job must have sinned in order for God to bring all these things upon him; but if he had listened to himself he would have realised that what he was doing was wrong...
God is not the one who will give evil things to us. God is the one who protects us from evil. Yes, there are going to be time when we just want to blame someone and if God is in it then we often turn to blame Him instead of thinking about what is happening. Job’s friends immediately thought that Job must have done something wrong for all this to happen to him and they wanted him to repent and get things right with God again – they blamed God even though they told Job that God would not give him evil.
Satan is the author of evil because he is the one who has it all wrapped up and ready to use against everything that God gives us. If we are not careful we allow him into our lives and he then dishes the evil out to us without limit. But if we are careful to continue trusting in God, the God is the one who will deliver us from that evil. Evil is a part of life because so many people allow it in; we then will also be affected by that evil because we stick with our friends. We should not turn our backs on our friends but rather bring God into their lives so they too can receive His constant care and attention. Evil things happen. Life is not a bed of roses. But God can give us comfort and strength to stand against anything Satan lets loose in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
Who do you tend to blame when things go wrong?
Are you depending on God for everything?
