#DailyDevotion When You Look to Death as a Friend
February 6th
Read Job 3:11–26
Job 3:17-26 There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. (18) There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster. (19) The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master. (20) “Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, (21) who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, (22) who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave? (23) Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? (24) For my sighing comes instead of my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. (25) For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. (26) I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.”
Death, the great equalizer. Most of the time, we are serving the fear of death or its companion, sin. It drives every facet of our life when don’t have faith in Christ. All the medicines, diets, quack health products out there tempt us to think we can escape it and we do try them. We don’t want to die normally. It is unnatural. But there are times we wish we were dead. We wish we never were born. We might even as Job says dig for it as it were treasure. We and Job think there is no suffering in death. Indeed much of the ancient world thought that death was pretty much the blahs and then you faded into nothingness. But we know from other revelation from God’s Word that is not the case. We can either be in torment in Gehenna or we can be enjoying Abraham’s bosom.
But what misery must be upon someone who is not chasing after life but instead seeking death and not being able to find it. He has no peace, no comfort, no ease. Instead Job says trouble comes after him. What comfort can we have when this type of life overcomes us? What sense does it make?
Paul tells us, 2Co 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, (4) who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Our sufferings are not our own. They are Christ Jesus’. It is his suffering we are experiencing. We are participating in his sufferings. But first Jesus participated in our sufferings, taking them into his flesh and soul, making them his own. Mat 8:16 “That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. (17) This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”” He takes them, sanctifies them and returns them to us as his own. Jesus says, Luk 9:23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” The cross we bear, Jesus has born it already in his flesh. He then helps us to lift us up and sustain us in our times of trouble.
Lord Jesus Christ, even as you have born the cross for us and you give us a cross to bear, grant us faith and courage of heart to find our life and our death in your innocent suffering and death upon the cross and your resurrection to be our life. Amen.