Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
Then Job answered the Lord:
“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
I spoke once, but I have no answer—
twice, but I will say no more.”
– Job 40:3-5
Then Job replied to the Lord:
“I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
– Job 42:1-6
Devotion
Job receives his meeting with God and is rebuked. God does most of the talking in chapters 38-42 but when Job does speak, on two different occasions, he is appropriately humbled. Instead of questioning God further, Job answers the only way a man can who has seen the living God face to face – with awe and repentance. Job does not receive an answer to the question of whether he deserved the suffering he experienced. Job realizes the fault is his for expecting to understand God’s purposes, not God’s for failing to reveal them. “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”
The Big Question
We are all sinful and Job was no different. Even though he led an exemplary life, he was still imperfect. Upon his sin being revealed to him, Job’s response was appropriately humble and filled with repentance. This a model for us. How do you respond when your sin is revealed to you? Are you defensive? Do you avoid the issue? Or, like Job, do you respond with great humility and repentance?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence reflecting on what you have learned.