Hang Tight
Today’s Verse:
My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. ~Job 23:11
We live in an age where people find it easier for them to quit than to stay at something. If trouble arises in the home, they leave their marriages. If there is too much work at their job, they quit their job. If they encounter trouble in church, they leave the church. Whatever it may be, the trend is to quit rather than to be steadfast. This morning, we want to be encouraged to be steadfast and persevere in the endeavors that we are in and wherever God has placed you.
We see Job and his difficulties.
Job was going through fiery trials. He lost his holdings, his heirs, his houses, his helpers, and his health. He was having a hard time with things. In addition, his so-called friends were telling him that he was going through these difficulties because of unconfessed sin in his life. Difficulty is the pressure in our life that will result in us either just giving up or resolving to stay faithful. It is always easy to tell someone going through a trial to stay put, but we apply a different standard when it is our trial.
We see Job and his decision.
Persevering and being steadfast begins with a decision. “My foot hath held his steps.” He saw that God had placed him where he was in life. He accepted, without reservation, God’s purpose for him. He said that he held his steps. He decided that he would walk the path that God gave to him. Each step seemed difficult, but he decided to have faith in God’s plan for his life.
We see Job and his discernment.
He said, “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” He saw his difficulty as God’s refining fire in his life. He saw that God chose to remove the dross out of his life and make him a better person. Job said, “I shall come forth as gold.” He discerned that God was working in his real life: his inner man and character.
We see Job and his dedication.
He said, “His way have I kept.” Steadfastness requires us to be dedicated. He would not sin and curse God during this phase of his life. He determined to stay faithful, obedient, and submissive. He would not give himself to complaining or looking for a way out. He was dedicated to going all the way through this trial. Steadfastness has a single goal in mind. It does not vacillate between two worlds. He remained fixated on God’s way.
We see Job and his difference.
“His way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips.” Here is the difference: Job would not allow his difficulties to affect his obedience to God. He was a man of real faith. He had faith with obedience. He was a rarity. The trial of his life would mold him but not morph him. His spirituality remained steadfast and strong.
If one thing could be said about Job, it was his steadfastness. He was steadfast in his principles, his purity, his patience, his pain, and his person. The troubles that he endured could not move him. He had a theology of God that was years ahead of his contemporaries. How steadfast are you? What will trouble do to you? Will you hang tight when things get tough? Determine today to be steadfast!
Have an unwavering God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: 2 Kings 6-8