“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” (Job 1:21-22 NIV)
Worship prevents sinning.
Our hero today is Job. Forty chapters exist in the book named for him. His story is the oldest book in the Bible. We meet him right after tragedy has struck. He’s lost his family, his livestock and servants. These events happened because of a conversation between God and Satan. As usual, Satan is accusing. He thinks the only reason Job is faithful to God is because he hasn’t had any hardship in his life. Satan is wrong.
Job’s response to his losses is worship. He tore his clothes, shaved his head and fell to the ground in worship of his one and only God. As a result, he didn’t sin. He kept his focus on God.
Worship keeps our focus on God.
In the midst of his tragedy, Job turned to the One who could help him. He didn’t believe his life was free from pain and heartache. He accepted his fate because he trusted in God. He devoted his life to God. All he had was and is God’s. In Job’s mind, God had sovereignty over his life. If God wanted to take everything away, that was His choice.
Worship draws our heart closer to God’s:
“I love the Lord, for he heard my voice, he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.” (Psalm 116:1-2 NIV)
The more we worship God, the more we worship God. As we lift our eyes to the skies, focusing our hearts on Him, our spirits unite.
“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24 NIV)
For over twenty years, I’ve made a practice of reading through the Bible in a year. Each time I got to the book of Job, I dreaded it. His trials and tribulations remind me the same thing can happen to me. God has control of my life, He can do what He wants. The suffering Job endured, no one wants. But then I did a study of the book by Lisa Harper. “Job: A Story of Unlikely Joy” is one I highly recommend.
I got past the conversation with Satan. When studying Job, people get hung up on why God even chats with Satan. But if we can’t get past those few verses, we won’t unearth the beauty found within the pages. We will miss the story of friendship that unfolds as Job’s friends counsel him.
Job teaches us many lessons. First, worship prevents you from sinning.
Question of the Day:
Have you spent time worshiping God today?
Further Reading: Job 1-3 NIV, 1 Corinthians 14:1-17 NIV, Psalm 37:12-29 NIV, Proverbs 21:25-26 NIV
