Daily Devotional
Sunday: Job Curses His Birth: Job 3:1-19
Job told God exactly how he felt. He began by cursing the day of his birth and his miserable existence, but did not curse God. His cry was an expression of pain and despair, not a cry of defiance against God. It is always best for believers to express their doubts and their honest emotions to the Lord in prayer. To go to God with our misery and heartache in order to find Him and evoke His compassion is never wrong. Jesus Himself asked God the question, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Jeremiah 20:14-18; Lamentations 3:1-18)
Monday: Job Questions Why: Job 3:20-26
Job’s greatest desire had been for the presence and favor of God; now the thing he dreaded most had happened. God seemed to have forsaken him, and he had no idea why. Still, Job did not curse; he prayed to God for mercy and relief.
Tuesday: Eliphaz Speaks: Job 4:1-21
The basic theology and viewpoint of Eliphaz was defective. He believed that the truly righteous will always prosper and poverty and suffering always imply sinfulness. God later revealed that this attitude was in error and the viewpoint it represented was “folly.”
Wednesday: Eliphaz Continues: Job 5:1-16
Eliphaz continues with his flawed theology. He tells Job that he should actually rejoice in this discipline from the Lord since repentance brings restoration. However, discipline of suffering for any reason can stretch an individual to his maximum potential. (Hebrews 12:5-11; Proverbs 3:11-12)
Thursday: Eliphaz Continues: Job 5:17-27
To Eliphaz, if God disciplines a person and he responds rightly, then God will deliver that individual from all calamities. This mistaken idea is contradicted by the Bible. Nowhere does the Bible teach that God will eliminate from our lives all trouble and suffering. Godly people are not always rescued in this life. (Hebrews 11:36-39)
Friday: Job Addresses Eliphaz: Job 6:1-30
Job recognized that his suffering ultimately came with God’s knowledge and permission. We may not know why God is allowing such things to happen, but you can know that in the end God Himself will make us strong, firm and steadfast, bringing us through victorious. (Romans 8:35-39; James 5:11)
Saturday: Job Addresses God—Job 7:1-21
Job spoke honestly to God about his feelings of unfairness, rejection and doubt. He even wished that God would leave him alone, though at other times he yearned for God to speak with him. The faithful who are undergoing severe trials should express their feelings to God openly. (Psalm 55:17; 56:9; 61:1)