The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 12 March 2019 – Righteous Persons Sometimes Suffer (1)
TOPIC: Righteous Persons Sometimes Suffer (1)
READ: Job 5:1-16 King James Version (KJV)
1 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
9 Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
15 But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
THE MESSAGE:
Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends had contended in his discourse on Job’s situation that Job was suffering because of his wickedness and to prove his case, he made the statement in verse 6 “affliction does not come from the dust or trouble from the ground.” By implication, Job was guilty of sin hence his advice in verse 6 for him to repent, because righteous persons cannot suffer afflictions. In his argument he made some statements about God: God does great and unsearchable things including watering the earth for man’s food (vs.9-10); God has a strong disposition in cracking down the counsel of the wicked (vs.12-13). Though his statements about God are true, he was totally wrong about Job’s case; he and his friends knew nothing about the dialogue that took place between God and the devil over Job’s integrity. It is human for people to blame others for their troubles, especially when a righteous person is suffering.
Man is limited in knowledge; therefore we must be careful on what we say over people’s plight. Yes, righteous person sometimes suffer like Job. When such happens, our duty is to strengthen, encourage and comfort them rather than being judgmental.
PRAYER: Lord, arise for the righteous who are suffering and save them.
