Job 18:5 Surely the light of the wicked is put out,
and the flame of their fire does not shine.
If you've never read the book of Job, do it. It's great. Here's the basic outline: Job loses everything... his house, his family, his kids, his money, his cattle. He's the prototypical country music singer. And the question of the book of Job is "Why?" Why do these bad things happen? After all these bad things happen, three of Job's friends show up. And they provide possible answers to the why question.
The above quote is from the answer of Job's friend Bildad. Bildad says "Surely the light of the wicked is put out." Essentially he says... all these bad things are happening to you. You must deserve it. You must have done something bad. Bildad believes that bad things are a sign that God is punishing you.
Trust me for now, but read the book later... at the end of the book God shows up. And God tells Bildad to shut his mouth. We're left with some level of question about why exactly bad things happen, but God is perfectly clear that the answer is not Bildad's. So today when your coworker tells you about her aunt who has been hospitalized, please don't say "What did you do to deserve that?" Whatever the answer is to suffering, that ain't it.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot for conversation and http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for more details on all our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday and 9 am Sunday.
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