Job 17:1-16
17:1-2 Job was fixated on his tribulation and sadness. Although it was a natural response and an understandable one too, it did not help his situation. From Job we learn that our focus should be on God, on prayer, on seeking the kingdom. So much in the world competes for our attention, especially emotional distress. If we train ourselves to refocus our attention on God and His promises, the fear and sadness has less power, less prevalence, less permanence.
17:3-8 Job felt alone. His friends did not support him and he felt a disconnect in his relationship with God. Yet he chose to remain faithful and active in his relationship with God. Even though everyone around him denounced him because of his difficult circumstances, Job relied on God to stick with him.
17:9 Despite his misery, Job held onto the spark that the righteous were promised by God to have the victory. Job knew that he had not sinned against God in any major, outright or irreparable way.
17:10-16 Job believed that he had no more days, no more purpose, no more light or hope. Yet his life was a statement to the force of evil that the righteous would prevail! From Job we learn that desperation is not permanent. We cannot give up our lives because of seasons that seem to indicate that we no longer have purpose or hope. In those precious moments God creates new life and new purpose.
Sometimes, like Job, we convince ourselves that we have reached a dead end. But even if all evidence supports that conclusions, God's promises do not. And God's promises have more power over our lives than anything else. God bursts through dead-ends and His love creates new passageways and opportunities. New hope and purpose.
