But he knows the way that I take;
    when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
 My feet have closely followed his steps;
    I have kept to his way without turning aside.
 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

Job 23:10-12 (Larger context: Job 12)

I’m sure pretty much everyone knows the story of old Job, who was a good and righteous man, but whom God allowed Satan to test. Old Satan thought he could break Job away from God, but after terrible trials and hardships, with the exception of one slip, Job held fast and received a great reward from God.

In the preceding verses, Job laments that he cannot find God to make his appeal for relief directly. In expressing this desire, Job used to idea of finding God’s house somewhere, but where?

Yes sir, Job wanted an audience with God…

Unlike Job, we can have an audience with God any time we want because God’s Son, through His action on the cross has taken away the separation that had stood between God and Man from the time of humanity’s rebellion against God described in Genesis chapter 3.

Yet even though Job couldn’t get a direct conference with God to make his case, he remained confident that he had lived according to God’s ways, that he had been faithful to God for his entire life, and thus, he knew that in the end, God would stand with him.

And Job was right, for in the end, God gave him great reward and made him whole again.

Just think about this for a moment…

Even though Job did not have the advantages that we have in Christ, he exhibited great faith, in spite of his slip up at one point, and I have to wonder if I could have been as steadfast as he was. Yet throughout my life, and I have had my share of challenges, God has always been there, He has always been steadfast, even when I might fall flat on my face. In those times, He offered me His hand to get up again.

You know, as I typed these words, I realized I did so with a long face, feeling a bit sad, if I’m honest. What am I thinking? How could I be so silly? A long face? Sad? Yes, sometimes I fall flat on my face…

And He offers His hand to help me up!!!

Yes, I regret that I mess up my fair share of the time, but when I do, He helps me get up again. I think I’ll go find a rooftop to shout from: This is a wonderful thing, don’t you think?