Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Job+003

CHAPTER 3 (ESV)

11 “Why did I not die at birth,

come out from the womb and expire?

12 Why did the knees receive me?

Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?

13 For then I would have lain down and been quiet;

I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,

14 with kings and counselors of the earth

who rebuilt ruins for themselves,

15 or with princes who had gold,

who filled their houses with silver.

16 Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,

as infants who never see the light?

17 There the wicked cease from troubling,

and there the weary are at rest.

18 There the prisoners are at ease together;

they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.

19 The small and the great are there,

and the slave is free from his master.

REFLECTION:

Job experienced extreme pain in his body and great grief from the loss of his family and treasure. It was understandable why he wanted to die. Job’s pain put him at the crossroad of his faith as a lot of his concept about God was being shaken – e.g. God will make you rich, He will keep you free from trouble and pain, He will protect your loved ones, etc. Job was brought back to the starting point of his faith. He only had two choices: either curse God and give up his faith, or continue to trust God and receive the strength to live from Him. Today, do you face struggles in your faith for various reasons? Hope you can learn from Job to have a deeper understanding of God after experiencing pain and struggle, and ultimately develop a closer relationship with God when you are out of the woods.

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell you.

As you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind into your devotional journal.

HYMN:

Give me Jesus – www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rZ8k9m2hwo