Job 23-24 "God-fearing"

Read: Job 23-24

Verses chosen for meditation:

Job 23:16 God has made my heart faint;

    the Almighty has terrified me;

17 yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,

    nor because thick darkness covers my face.

Reflect: 

Job is God-fearing. Not the kind of fear which think of God as a slave driver or a distant father. It is the kind of fear which think of God as the Creator, the all-powerful and all-knowing one true God of the universe. 

It is the kind of fear which inspire Job to obey all that God had commanded him to do. It is the kind of fear which helped Job live a righteous life. It is the kind of fear which see God as Abba Father, Friend and the King of all kings. 

It is the kind of fear that equates more with utmost reverence. It is the kind of fear befitting of a subject worshipping the Almighty. Hence, even in his plight, Job said that "God had made his heart faint, and that the Almighty has terrified me" 

Yet, in his utmost reverence for God, Job was sure that God would listen to his questions and plea. Job had a deep kind of intimacy with God. The kind of relationship based on the understanding and conviction that God is love but also the Almighty. 

Relate: 

Because of Christ, we who believe are privileged to have direct access to the Father in our prayers and petitions. Yet, how many of us can have that same sense of godly fear as Job? We can only have that if we seek to cultivate a deep relationship with God. And we need to cultivate it in the right way. What do I mean? Can such a relationship be cultivated in the wrong way?

It can. It can be cultivated in the wrong way when we have a one sided view of God. Or rather, we grow to accept only the loving aspects of His nature. Yes God is love and He had given His only begotten Son so that we who believe can reign with Him. We learn to live in the grace of God for even if we sin, we can go back to God in repentance. 

Yet, there is another side of God which we should bear not just in mind, but in our heart. That side would be His glory, His power, His sovereignty and His impending Judgement. Much as we call God as Friend and Abba Father, we learn from Job to also relate to God in the most reverent way. 

And hence, we worship Him in spirit and truth. We prioritise our time with Him. We ensure that what comes out of our mouth glorifies rather than smear His holy Name. 

What we see with our eyes aligns with what He taught in the Bible. How we work, rest and the things we do for leisure should honour His ways. And we share the Gospel with urgency because we do not know when Jesus would come back again as Judge.

That will be truly God-fearing and yet knowing that He is our Guide and our Shield.

Rest

Father in heaven, thank you for blessing us with the privilege of knowing you in a deep way. Thank you for Your Son Jesus Christ who showed us the way, the truth and the life. Help us to fear You with Godly fear. This is so that like Job, we can be a good witness for the Gospel and glorifies Your holy Name. Amen. 

Jason