Job 12:1-15:35; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58; Psalm 39:1-13;
Proverbs 21:30-31
“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life” (Ps. 39:4). This is the theme verse today. All the
sections of our scripture echo this idea that our lives are fleeting and small,
and that God is large and in charge.
The brutal honest of Job is just simply refreshing. Some
people find Job to be depressing, but I actually find it very honest and
worshipful. All throughout Job, so many attributes of God are spoken in strong
and irrevocable language. “In his hand is the life of every creature and the
breath of all mankind” (12:10), and “to God belong wisdom and power; counsel
and understanding are his…..to him belong strength and victory” (12:
13-16). God is large and in charge. All
breath and life comes from him.
As we continue in Job for quite some days to come, be on the
look out for all these amazing picture images of who God is and how all of
creation is in submission to him.
Our entire 1 Corinthians section exemplifies how fleeting
and temporary our lives are and how our eternal God is above and beyond all
that is earthly. “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will all be changed” (15:52). What a beautiful picture of
our own transformation from mortal to immortal this passage paints.
And Psalms continues on with our theme: “Man is a mere
phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up
wealth, not knowing who will get it. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope
is in you” (39:6-7).
It is good to be reminded of how fleeting our lives are, and
how powerful our God truly is. A healthy dose of truth can reorient our
perspective. And as we have this reorientation, we begin to anticipate in the
work that God is doing instead of being consumed with our every day lives. Our
eyes are lifted off ourselves and fixated on the Lord God Almighty and what he
has done, is doing, and will do.
This post has not done justice to the power and glory of God
that is represented in these texts. My words are just not strong or eloquent
enough. I just want to yell, “Praise him!,” after reading today’s texts. May we be made ready for the battle, because
our victory is going to come from the Lord (see Proverbs 21:31). Our hope is in
him. Our eyes are on him. No matter what life may throw at us, may we be able
to utter, just as Job did, “though he slay [us], yet [we] will hope in him”
(13:15).
“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you” (Ps.
39:6-7).
- Mary Matthias
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