NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

July 16

Scripture focus: He said,
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
And naked I shall return there
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD."
Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. Job 1:21-22 New American Standard Bible

In terms of God’s relationship with individuals, the most profound example comes from Job. After spending much time complaining to God about the lack of justice in his circumstances, God reminds Job of a few things. He emphasizes his power as creator in addition to the human inability to fully comprehend God’s infinite nature. God’s speech reminds Job of his place in the universe; that he merely represents one part of God’s vast creation. I find this speech interesting, as Job 1 and 2 do not indicate that the adversary (In Hebrew- the word that gets translated as Satan here is not actually a name, just a word meaning “adversary”) afflicted Job while God’s attention rested elsewhere.

Instead God himself pointed the adversary, or accuser, in Job’s direction because of his holy and blameless nature. Thus, it confuses me that God’s argument centers on Job’s place in the universe, as God himself singled Job out for this treatment. Either way God’s argument only serves as a partial explanation for what Job endured. As such, in applying this to my own set of circumstances, this is all I have to work with. In no way do I suspect that God singled me out for punishment and would never place myself in Job’s class as a blameless and upright man.
However, the book does serve as yet another useful reminder of my place in the universe. I must maintain a sense of perspective about my own problems within the context of what happens within both God’s people and the rest of the world. swm

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