JOB 2:3, “ Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
What do you see the world recognizes? Money, Fame, Power, Prestige, Talent, etc…. What are some of the things that you have been recognized for in your life? Are they awards you’ve won, degrees you earned, positions you’ve raised too, a certain financial status that you’ve obtained? We must realize that what we value, and what the world recognizes is certainly NOT the same as what God recognizes. Sure almost everyone appreciates recognition for things they have done, but it’s an entirely different ball game when the God of heaven looks upon your life and measures it from his perfect perspective, which is vastly different from yours, perhaps even offensive to you. God is not recognizing Bill Gates in heaven because of a huge earthly success and the plethora of money that he earned. Yes, he worked hard, and did a lot of good with his products and software which most of us are probably using right now to read this devotion.
Yet in Job’s day and time, he himself was the Bill Gates. Let me explain how this I know so from a preacher that I heard on the radio although I forget his name, his word opened my eyes even further to this man called Job. He lost all his sheep – Sheep were used to make clothing at that time to which Job had more than anyone. When fire fell from heaven, HIS WHOLE CLOTHING LINE, before GAP, Tommy Hilfiger, Sean John, etc.., was gone. He lost all his camels when the Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on his camels and carried them off. Camels were used to take long journeys. Job’s TAXI CAB SERVICE WAS DESTROYED! A mighty desert wind then came in and caused the house to collapse were his sons and daughters were abiding. THERE WENT HIS CHILDREN! And if that was not enough, Satan then afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. JOB’S BODY WAS IN EXCRUCIATING PAIN. This only added insult to injury or perhaps better said injury to insult.
Yet with all that Job had that God had blessed him with, God honored Job’s character not even mentioning his great wealth that he had when He spoke to Satan. Here’s what God pointed out.
1 – There is no one like him in all the earth. Job was many notches above the rest. When put under a microscope his life shows what no other life can show.
2 – He is blameless and upright. No one can find any dirt, deception, deceit, jealousy, pride, or crooked ways in his life.
3 – A man who fears God. Job recognized that God was in charge and he so reverenced the Lord NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM. It’s easy to worship God when everything is hunky-dory (great), but to fall to the ground in worship and say: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” What a statement. Most men fear other men, NOT JOB, he feared God alone. “A man who is intimate with God is not intimidated by men”.
4 – And shuns evil. Job’s heart, unlike most people’s heart, perhaps even yours, repelled sin and was not drawn to it like a moth to the flame. His heart was resolved completely with the attitude “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
5 – And he still maintains his integrity. Real integrity is character woven throughout the fabric of your life. It’s how you are, how you think, and what you do in the dark, when no one is looking, when no one would know. What would you try and get away with if you knew no one would catch you? Perhaps your answer to this will cause you to worship the Lord or confess, and get right with God.
Take a self-check, inventory your life, how are you measuring up to God. If you are a saint perhaps you are struggling with some sin that needs to GO. If you are a sinner, then you are not yet saved, and God is angry with the sinner daily (Psalm 7:11). What do you think God is saying right now about your character, what can he recognize in you? Blessings, Pastor Phil
He Has Magnified His Word 