Live Like Job - Week 2 (Monday Morning Devotion)
This series, written by Pastor Ricky Jacob, who is serving the Winnebago people of Nebraska, looks at the story of Job and helps us discover how to live a life of faith like him.
Need to start at the beginning? Here's week 1
This week we are reflecting on the life of a God-fearing and upright man named Job. You know Murphy’s Law, right? Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Job’s Extension of Murphy’s Law is: Nothing is ever so bad that it can’t get worse.
One moment all is calm, the next moment everything is chaos. First, Job loses his wealth to marauding bandits. Gone are his oxen needed for farming, gone are his donkeys and camels needed for transport, and gone are his sheep and all his workers are massacred.
While still reeling from the shock waves of economic catastrophe, news of an even greater personal tragedy comes, a storm has taken the lives of his dear children. All ten of them.
In all of this, Job does not curse God, nor does he flippantly say 'Oh, My God.' This is bad but it gets worse. God once again brags Job up and Satan responds with 'Skin for skin!' "A man will give all he has for his own life.' Creator God says to Satan, "Very well, then, he is your hands, but you must spare his life."
Job is afflicted with painful sores from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. To add insult to injury his wife says to him. "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all of this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Today his response would probably be labeled as being 'sexist.' However, Job was merely stating reality. Due to man's rebellion against God, pain, stealing, suffering and death entered the world. Things go wrong. There is no doubt about that!
Job does not follow the advice of his wife or go the way that Satan was leading him to do. Instead, by the grace of God, Job accepts God's will for his life, come what may. Jesus accepted the will of His heavenly Father that took Him to suffer on the cross. Jesus did die that is true. And then on the third day, He rose so that each and every man, woman and child who trusts in Him has the hope of life everlasting.
This has been Pastor Ricky Jacob of Jesus Our Savior Lutheran Church and preschool, of Winnebago. I close with the words of Good News of Job: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end, he will stand upon the earth" [Job 19:25 NIV]