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| Previous Next Scripture tells of many prayers--urgent requests to God for help. In All Things Are Possible, author Daniel Partner tells of devotional meaning in seventy-five of these prayers. Partner's insightful, accessible readings show that no human problem is unique and that God hears believers' prayers. Not only can the answers be miraculous--prayer itself is a miracle. While reading All Things Are Possible, Christians will see their own struggles in the prayers of biblical characters, be encouraged to lift their voices to heaven like the saints of old, and embrace Jesus' promise: "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23 NASB). This devotional employs various translations of Scripture. Soft cover from Barbour Publishing, Inc., copyright 2002 |
"DAY THIRTY-SIX"
Then Job arose, and rent his mantle,
and shaved his head, and fell down upon
the ground, and worshipped, and said,
Naked came I out of my mother's womb,
and naked shall return thither:
the Lord gave, and the Lord bath taken
away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
In all this Job sinned not,
nor charged God foolishly.
- JOB 1:20-22
Rereading the story of Job, I'm reminded of the verse that says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy 6:10 NRSV). Job was the richest man in the East. He was also blameless and upright; he feared God and turned away from evil. Was he a godly man because God had blessed him so richly? This is what Satan thought. "Put forth thine hand now," Satan said to God, "and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face" (Job 1:11). If this had happened, all of Job's riches would have turned to evil.Wealth had not made Job a foolish man. His actions proved the wisdom that "one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions" (Luke 12:15 NRSV). Job displayed the content of his life when he did not passionately throw off all his clothes or tear out his hair. Rather, in conformity to his culture, he deliberately tore his outer cloak and shaved his head. Job kept his temper and maintained the possession of his soul in the midst of this tragedy. Job did not feel that he was robbed or wounded or maimed. He was only naked, just as he was when he was born. He may as well have quoted Moses: "For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:19); or Solomon: "And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7 NRSV); or Paul: "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out" (1 Timothy 6:7). We do not hear Job say, "I am to blame for what happened to my children." Nor does he say, "The Lord gave and the Chaldeans have taken away" or "God made me rich, and the devil has made me poor." Instead he honored God as both the source and owner of all that he had: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). Job's is the voice of all people who are sanctified by faith. We have the assurance that, despite all losses, our souls "will not be found naked. . .so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life" (2 Corinthians 5:3-4 NRSV). Click here to send this devotion to a friend!
