“Happy
is the man whom God corrects: Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the
Almighty.” (v.17)
Yes,
God does correct us. Like any loving father He does chasten His sons and
daughters when they disobey. Through afflictions, pains, and sorrows, He corrects,
chastens, and so restores us. Then, like all children who have been disciplined
by their parents, we become happy to enter back into His loving graces once more.
However,
Eliphaz got it wrong again, God was not correcting Job. All his sufferings were
produced by Satan, and permitted by God. In this permission, God was honoring a
man "perfect and upright", one who "feared Him and avoided
evil”, to show the strength of a human soul devoted to God.
I
am always amazed at what hardships human beings can endure, but never surprised
when I find out they are believers. When life throws curve balls, and we find
our selves on “Mr. Toad’s wild ride”, the believer has the advantage of the
right perspective to fall back on: “God is still with us”, “He will never leave
us”, and “ Walks with us, even through
the valley of the shadow of death.”
I
know this to be true, for in my life I have been through many difficult
experiences, things that could have crushed me, even killed me. But the LORD
was there, helping me to overcome the darkness and bring me into His glorious light. And, He will do the same for you, if you believe on His name.
The
Truth: “These
things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you
have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
