Job 1:1

New International Version (NIV)

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

For Meditation

God has work to do on all of us. Even Job, the “blameless and upright; who feared God and shunned evil,” needed pruning (Job. 1:1). Who would have thought that a man with such credentials had some rough edges to shed? But he did!

Consider verse eight and hear God brag about Job to Satan. “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Notice the relativity of the divine testimony. Compared to other human beings, Job was spiffy clean. However, human standard is not what God desires for us. Christlikeness is His goal (Eph. 4:13). It is the only standard that holds for eternity. Though God may brag about our Christian maturity, He still wields His pruning shears to make us more fruitful. We need to know this truth and to remember it in our crucibles. It is humbling, and enables us to walk through our discomfort, with Christ holding our hand.

Like all of us, Job needed some trimming to make him more like Christ. He had some growing to do in his understanding of God. It is beneficial to remember that God’s pruning shears cuts deep, and Job felt its agonizing sharpness. He has become the quintessential sufferer whose name evokes pain and discomfort. But God used Job’s suffering to prune him. After much talk and self-righteous claims in his dialogue with his three friends, Job finally realized how much he didn’t know and needed to learn in submission. “My ears had heard about you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). That place, my friend, is where God is taking all of us through the straits of this cruel world.

But wait! For all of you who are feeling the sharpness of God’s pruning shears, Job’s story doesn’t end there. When Job learned the essence of God’s pruning through suffering, “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part,” with a double portion of everything he lost (Job. 42:17).

1. Isn’t that wonderful?
2. Is that not a desirable end you can hope for?
3. Can you then submit to God’s pruning shears?
4. Can you admit your need for growth in spite of your spiritual maturity?
5. Can you glorify God by admitting that He knows better than you do when you go through suffering?

I pray the Lord will illumine your mind to comprehend His grace in your suffering today.

May you overcome the feeling of being forsaken by God when the going gets tough; and may you rather receive His strength and courage to bear through it.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. So, hold on to Jesus!

Shalom