Job 31:24-25, 29, and 33-34 "Have I put my trust in
money or felt secure because of my gold? Does my happiness depend on
my wealth and all that I own?
"Have I ever
rejoiced when my enemies came to ruin or become excited when harm came their
way?
“Have I tried to hide my sins as people normally do,
hiding my guilt in a closet? Have I
feared the crowd and its contempt, so that I refused to acknowledge my sin and
would not go outside?
Beginning with lust …job begins to review the laws that God
gave them to live a righteous life. One by one he asked himself the important question…
“Have I?”… and then dismissed them as not the reason for his suffering. Job longed
for just one person to back him up and believe his innocence. Oh how he longed
for God to come and judge him…so his friends and all who mocked his insistence
on virtue… could see that he was suffering for no reason God had already
ordained punishment.
Lust…letting money and wealth become our master….rejoicing
when the guilty are punished…and hiding our sins from God like Adam did in the
garden…..they will destroy our relationship with God. We all need to take some time to reflect on
these four things that can quickly overcome our lives and hearts…and block us
from hearing what God wants to do to make us stronger Christians.
Truth is we have all probably lusted after something in our
lifetime and we need to take some time to confess it and ask God to forgive
us. And even if we can’t recall a single
incident of lust…or greed…or celebration over an enemy’s punishment…or a sin we
hid from God…we need to stop and thank him for helping us live a pure life like
Job had. And if we have already
confessed those sins…we need to thank God for cleansing it from our lives and
helping us to overcome the temptations to let it come back in.
Satan will continue to hover over us like a hungry lion…waiting
for a chance to make us so weak we forget God can overcome any obstacle in our
life. God is bigger that any problem…he won that right when he died on the
cross for our sins…and rose to sit with his father in Heaven. God can forgive any sin...no matter how much
we have let it destroy us. God can
forgive the sins we commit in our hearts…against others…and against him.
Father…thank you for reminding me that I need to stop and
review my life for hidden sin that might separate me from you and give satan power
to control me for a time. Help me to be
honest with myself and let you help me uncover the smallest sins that I have
never realized might be a hindrance to my Christian growth. Break me and empty
me of all the world’s influence over my heart…and fill me up with your love and
power. Fill me so full that satan can’t
find any room for his lies and tricks.
Amen.
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