READ: Job 19,20; Psalms 41; Romans 3
SCRIPTURE: Job 19: 25 I know
that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;
27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart
yearns within me!
OBSERVATION: Human
suffering raises many questions concerning God and human society. People
struggle to understand why people, especially good people or innocent ones,
suffer. Human response to suffering varies from person to person, depending on
who goes through suffering. When Job was tested, his friends Eliphaz the
Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite came to comfort him. The
recognized Job’s suffering was great. However, after seven days in silence,
Job’s friends, one after another, started to accuse him; they said Job needed
to repent from his sin. Job thought God was angry with him for reasons unknown
to him. So, he wanted to argue with God. His friends’ accusations made Job
tired. They were “worthless physicians” and “miserable comforters” to Job (Job.13:4;
16:2). Despite his friends’ allegations against him and his inability to
understand why it had happened to him, Job never failed to speak about his
faith and hope in God. Of course, he expressed his despair as well.
In Chapter 16, we see Job’s hope
about his friend in heaven who is his advocate, intercessor, witness, the one
who will plead with God “as a man pleads for his friend” (Job.16:19-21). In Job
19:25, we see Job’s bold confession of his faith and future hope. It implies
that God is his redeemer. Notice the emphasis on the first-person language of
the text in verse 27. Job says of his hope that God will defend him against all
the false accusations. He was passionate to see it. We may not be able to
understand our present crises. But, we have the living hope in Christ. Jesus
Christ is our redeemer. He is our advocate who intercedes for us. The bible
says, “let us hold firmly to the faith we profess…Let us then approach God’s
throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help us in our time of need” (Heb.4:14,16).
APPLICATION: Thousands of years
ago, Job was able to see his redeemer. He was very confident about
his faith and hope. Against all the odds, he openly confessed his faith and
expressed his heart’s longing to see God the redeemer. Seeing God with the eyes
of faith helped Job to endure the suffering patiently. If I go through any suffering
in my life, I need to keep my eyes on God, though I do not understand why it
had happened to me. When I see God, I receive the strength to overcome my present
struggles and the hope for the future. My “present sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory that will be revealed” (Rom.8:18). Do I see God as my
redeemer?
PRAYER: Father God, thank
you for the eternal hope you have given me. Oh my redeemer Jesus, you are my
hope, the hope of glory. Help me to be confident about the future you have for
me and confess it boldly. Amen.
- Arputharaj Samuel
+91 9538328573
Day - 223
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