Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Job+013
CHAPTER 13 (ESV)
20 Only grant me two things,
then I will not hide myself from your face:
21 withdraw your hand far from me,
and let not dread of you terrify me.
22 Then call, and I will answer;
or let me speak, and you reply to me.
23 How many are my iniquities and my sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin.
24 Why do you hide your face
and count me as your enemy?
25 Will you frighten a driven leaf
and pursue dry chaff?
26 For you write bitter things against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27 You put my feet in the stocks
and watch all my paths;
you set a limit for the soles of my feet.
28 Man wastes away like a rotten thing,
like a garment that is moth-eaten.
REFLECTION:
Job didn’t understand why an upright person suffered, and he didn’t understand why God was silent in His suffering—as if God regarded Job as an enemy and didn’t answer him in a word. Job saw himself as a prisoner of God, with his feet in the stocks, under constant surveillance, and marking on the soles of his feet, suffering like slaves. Job did not understand which of his sins had caused so much misery, and he assumed the consequences of “the iniquities of his youth.” Yet all of Job’s inferences were wrong. He did not know that it was Satan who attacked him, and he did not understand the reason behind it. Have you ever fallen into the same confusion as Job? Understand that God is the God of grace and mercy, and the God of righteousness. There are things you may not understand, but it’s not time to tell you. Keep moving forward with faith and patience. God’s promises will give you hope in hopeless situations.
PRAYER:
God, why do the righteous suffer? Why do You remain silent in my suffering? Although there are many things I do not understand, one thing I am sure of is that You are a God full of grace and mercy, and You are also a God who reveals justice. One day, You will make Your intentions clear to me. Please grant me faith and patience to hold on to Your promises and continue forward.
HYMN:
Cry in my Heart – www.youtube.com/watch?v=81MjSOwR5qw
