2009 – Day 257.Sept 15 – Things That Matter

Passage of the Day: Job 27 … Linked for study …

My Journal for Today: Today, as Chapter 27 of Job’s life unfurls, and as we read our hero standing up for God’s truth in the face of the humanistic drivel which had been fed to him by his “friends,” Swindoll asks a very important question of anyone reading this passage. He asks, “What comes to your mind when you think about God.”

Because it is absolutely true that our concept of God will heavily impact our world view; and ultimately it will effect who we are and the decisions we make. Remember the adage from Proverbs 23: 7 in the NKJV, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Job, in Chapter 27 begins to stand even more strongly for God and what he knows of God, speaking out forcefully about what he KNOWS about God from his past relationship with his God. His stand had obviously been forged into his mind and heart years before this moment in time where he has lost everything which was dear to him, including his own health and wellness. We will stand for God only to the degree that we know God.

And I totally agree with Swindoll that this apologetic from Job in Chapter 27 is a good example of the reason for Scripture memorization. If you believe, as I do, that The Bible – all of it – is God’s very word; and if Scripture for you is as it is declared in 2nd Tim. 3: 16, God’s inspired truth, then it follows that if much of God’s truth is buried deep in your heart, you will rely on that truth when circumstances are confusing and when untruth is paraded before you.

That’s where Job is at the time of Chapter 27; and many untruths are being spouted forth from his “friends.” But then in this Chapter we read a broken man speaking Godly truth into the gap of dishonor and distortion. Knowing God and His truth and having a deep abiding relationship with God has shaped Job into a man who can stand for God in the face of untruths shaped by Satan and the world.

My dear one, do you have God’s truth deeply buried in your heart so that you can avoid untruth and distorted human logic? That’s the prescription given by the Psalmist in Psalm 119; and it’s one in which I personally believe strongly. We can – and will – stand for truth and more likely avoid sin in our lives if/when we bury much of God’s word in our hearts (see Ps. 119: 9-11).

I hope we’ll all become like Job when we’re faced with unGodly untruth. And I pray that we’ll all be able to declare, with confidence, that God’s word is a light unto our life (see Ps. 119: 105). So, … I hope we, like Job, shine that light of truth so that all who stand in darkness can see it.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, Your word is a lamp unto my path and a light unto my path. Amen