Read Job 42:1-6
Job was clearly remorseful for all he had said about God. Especially now that God had finally come forward. Yet who would be prepared for God to say the things he did? Boldly Job took responsibility for being the one who questioned God’s “wisdom with such ignorance.”
To acknowledge your sinfulness so directly and completely takes courage. Job couldn’t help but feel deep guilt and regret, and he faced it head on. Don’t people tend to want to hide their sins and be seen as good? We can’t hide our sins from God and Job knew it.
You can tell Job had been listening intently to God because he remembered how God had challenged him. I suppose you don’t forget something like that, something that rocks you to your core. Seeing and hearing from God had to have been an indescribable experience.
In Job’s state of mind, would he take his failure before God as the final straw? How could Job have said such things? Was Job beating himself up now that God was standing right before him?
Imagine having God’s attention from the whirlwind, even if for only that instant in time. Even if terrified, Job would treasure that time, focusing more on that honor than anything else. How many people get an in-person visit from God? We can treasure God encounters during our prayer time, but what is recorded here seems much more face to face.
If you had been Job, would you have responded to God differently? I would have been standing there awestruck and without words.
Why do you think Job said this? “I take back everything I said.” A lot of what Job said was helpful in terms of helping Job cleanse. He had been spilling out his heart and crying out for answers. Now that he has the chance to speak and respond, all those struggles seem to melt away into the joy of belonging, of mattering so much to God.
Job still doesn’t know what he did or why he suffered so much loss. It doesn’t seem to matter now. God stepped down to greet him, Job had to be filled with joy.
Never once did Job turn away from God even though he was mad at God. Yet Job feels like he let God down by saying improper things about God in his desperation. It is for that Job wants to repent.
The act of repentance to God can be thought of as a beautiful cleansing and rebirth. When we turn away from our sinful tendencies and turn back to God, that’s repentance. It’s when we put our trust in God alone. God has then the opportunity to burst out and be seen in and through us.
Let’s pray. Lord, I love you with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Thank you for stepping into my life and making things better. May I carry your message of love into the world. Help me not to shy away from my enemies but to be bold and genuine in my love for them, too. May everything I say be loving and uplifting to those I meet. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
