Job continues his response in chapter 14. He makes a couple key points, and very fitting for the start of 2009. His first comment is “we’re all adrift in the same boat, too few days, too many troubles”. Wow – that sure sounds like something I think on occasion. Life is happening and I can’t deal with it all. It goes by and while I would love to have it under control, it overwhelms me and I just can’t handle it all. Sound familiar? I think a lot of us wrestle with this feeling, certainly from time to time. Job is too. He is coming to the realization that he is not in control – he is not driving the bus – and trying to take control is really an exercise in futility. I love his question: “Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps”? I know there are days I do. I sit around and think about how overwhelmed I am and just how little control I have and ask if it is really worth it. Is all the hard work and effort making any difference? Things seem out of my control no matter what I do. Well things are out of my control, and what I have to focus on is dealing with them as a servant of God and being lined up with His plan because He is in absolute control. No matter how hard I try, I never will be. He always is and I need to stay focused on that reality.
Job makes a profound statement later in this chapter we all need to pay close attention to. It describes the God that loves us and how He deals with sin once we have been forgiven. In our case today that happens once Jesus comes into our heart and we are set free from the penalty of sin. But check out how Job says it: “My sins will be stuffed in a sack and thrown into the sea–sunk in deep ocean”. God doesn’t hold on to our sin once we are forgiven. As humans we struggle with letting go after someone has wronged us, at least I do. But God sets us free from the burden of sin if we deal with it and receive His forgiveness. Jesus is the way that happens. Jesus went to the cross to release us from sin – to bag it and throw it into the ocean – so we can spend eternity with the Father. What a glorious gift that is. What a precious offer that has been freely given. The question is – have you received it? Are your sins sitting on the bottom of the ocean?
Posted by asorensen 
