The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 13 March 2019 – Righteous Persons Sometimes Suffer (2)
TOPIC: Righteous Persons Sometimes Suffer (2)
READ: Job 5: 17-27 King James Version (KJV)
17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.
27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
THE MESSAGE:
In today’s passage, Eliphaz has continued to indict Job of being the architect of his suffering. To him, a just God cannot allow an innocent man to suffer – Job must be guilty. He therefore advised that he should surrender to God’s discipline for his healing and restoration (verse 17).
From verse 18, God can wound and bind up and injure and heal, if He so wishes in a particular instance.
This however, does not apply in the case of Job. In order to buttress his argument over Job’s suffering, Eliphaz goes further to posit the theory of prosperity for the righteous which shows through material blessings, God’s deliverance and safety of life, blessings of children and long life. All these, he concluded, have been proven to be true (verse 27).
Many Christians also hold the above view and wonder why the righteous sometimes suffer. This is a great mistake. God does not eliminate suffering for the righteous, we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).
Secondly, material prosperity is not a measure of one’s righteousness. Though sufferings produce pains, they equally produce godly character, God’s power and eternal glory, when they are properly handled.
PRAYER: Lord, may we always see the gain of suffering than the pains.
