In yesterday’s devotional, we saw the integrity of Job. Job stood on integrity all through his days of life, in pains and sorrow, in rejections and baseless accusations from very close friends. Job did maintained his integrity in relationship with opposite sex and in other moral lifestyles. The present world is getting depleted of people with this golden character trait. This leads today’s devotional into another character of Job that the world needs today. A major character Job had that made outstanding is the fear of the LORD. The fear of God in the Bible is usually defined as “reference or awe.” Job honoured God in the truest of all things. Job lived a life that showed his respect to God, both in things God likes or dislikes. He was careful not to do anything that would make God gets angry with him. It is surprising to see a Gentile, who was not one of the seeds of Abraham having the fear of God this way. There are some phrases from Job that placed him on top list of those who have real fear of God.
Job in reverence to God knew that no one can harden him/herself against God because of anything. Here him: – “God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered”. This tells how Job feared to offend God in all things. One Andrew Bernhardt said this while talking on Job’s characters: – “Job knew that God is righteous, just, and holy, and he knew that if he chose to sin against Him, all his past righteousness would not be enough to shield him from God’s wrath.” God’s children who do things based on what they like might not be considered as having the fear of God. Many husbands find it difficult to resist the pressure of their wives to do certain things. But Job resisted his wife’s suggestion to curse God and die (Job 2: 9 – 10). Job would have been judged right if he had departed from God at his trying days. But because he feared to offend God he stayed on. Hear him: “But He knows the way that I take: When he had tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips. I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23: 10 – 12 NKJV).
Those who claim being God’s children should fear Him (reverence Him) by doing anything possible not to offend Him. We are living in a world today that many people do thing without recourse to how God will feel, weather their actions please God or not. Among the religious people of today, who is there that God will hold on to as honouring like Job. Fearing God and shunning evil can still attract God’s passionate relationship upon us. The phrase “feared God/shunned evil”, according to foot note of The Children’s Ministry Resource Bible; New King James Version, page 599, are common terms in wisdom literature describing devotion to God. The beloved in Christ, this devotional urges all readers to reverence God, hold Him in awe, living in total obedience to His word like Job. This is what “fearing God is all about.
PRAYER:
Blessed Father, I need more of your help to build up my trust, respect and reverence on you. Let my body, spirit and soul be neatly glued to loving your ordinances in Jesus name.
bishopubaudenyi@hopealivechurch