The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 16 March 2019 – Dangers of Desperation
TOPIC: Dangers of Desperation
READ: Job 7:1-10 King James Version (KJV)
1 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?
2 As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:
3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.
7 O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
THE MESSAGE:
Job, out of anguish resulting from his suffering, has expressed his feelings. In desperation, he has seen nothing good in his life. His flesh has been eaten up with worms and dust (verse 5).
Every hope for life was gone and everything has totally become futile. Under this situation, the only alternative was death. As humans limited in knowledge about the source of his predicament, he took to negative confessions. God, though silent over the matter, had purposed to glorify His name through Job but he did not know.
Christians should not despair or take to negative confessions when passing through suffering.
Alternatively, they should confess positively. This will help such a person to endure and see affliction from an eternal perspective and ultimately to triumph over such situations. We should learn from Abraham who against hope had hope and was blessed to be the father of many nations.
It will pay us more if we humbly reason with God over such uncommon matters than to despair. He knows the details of what we are passing through and will make a way of escape and fast too. Desperation does not solve problems; rather it wounds our spirit and leaves us defeated.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, please help my weakness so that I will not despair in time of affliction.
