Saturday, May 24, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Job 19-21
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 60
Key Verse
Job 20:18 — “That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.”
Devotional Thought
Job has lost everything—his oxen, his sheep, his camels, his servants, and all ten of his children. His body is covered in painful boils, and he sits on an ash heap scraping himself with a potsherd. His wife has told him to curse God and die. Now his three friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—have come to comfort him, but their comfort has turned to accusation. In chapter 19, Job cries out in anguish: “How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?” He feels abandoned by everyone—his brethren, his acquaintances, his kinsfolk, his servants, even his own wife. He is utterly alone. And yet, in the midst of this crushing darkness, Job makes one of the most stunning declarations of faith in all of Scripture: “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”
This is not a man in denial. Job is not pretending his suffering is small or his grief is shallow. He is a man who has looked into the abyss and still clings to the God he cannot see. His friends, meanwhile, have built an entire theology around the idea that suffering is always punishment for sin. Zophar in chapter 20 describes the wicked as those who prosper briefly but are then destroyed. But Job pushes back in chapter 21, observing that the wicked often live long, prosperous lives and die in peace. The neat formulas of his friends do not match the messy reality of the world.
As we near the end of May, the days are long and warm, and summer is almost upon us. Life feels full and bright. But perhaps you are walking through a season where the brightness feels distant. Maybe you have been broken by words, as Job was. Maybe you feel estranged from those who should be closest to you. Maybe you have cried out and heard only silence. Job’s story does not offer easy answers. It does not explain why the righteous suffer or why the wicked prosper. But it does offer us a companion in the darkness—a man who wept, who questioned, who demanded answers, and who still said, “I know that my redeemer liveth.” That redeemer is Jesus Christ, who entered our suffering, who was despised and rejected, who cried out from the cross, and who rose again so that we might have living hope. Even when we cannot see Him, He lives. Even when our flesh is consumed, we shall see God.
Reflection
- Job’s friends offered explanations for his suffering rather than presence in his pain. When you encounter someone who is suffering, are you more tempted to explain their trial or to sit with them in it?
- Job declared “I know that my redeemer liveth” even when he could not feel God’s presence. What does it look like in your life to hold onto faith when your feelings and your circumstances seem to contradict it?
Prayer
O God, we come before You as those who often feel the weight of this fallen world pressing hard upon us. We have been broken by words, isolated from friends, and confused by the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous. Yet we cling to the truth that our Redeemer lives. Lord, when we cannot trace Your hand, help us to trust Your heart. When our flesh fails and our hope feels like a tree cut down, remind us that in our flesh we shall see You. Give us the courage of Job to confess faith in the darkness. Strengthen us by Your Spirit, and let us rest in the promise that You will stand upon the earth in the latter day. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our living Redeemer. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 60:1 — “O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.”