Trust NOT in Man

When friends let Job down, he doesn't turn from God. That's perhaps one of the special skills Job possesses that many professing Christians do not. I have heard many people talk about the harm they have suffered at the hands of other humans being the reason they do not believe in God. Most notably, I have heard many claim their unbelief is justified because of the ill-treatment they have received or experienced at the hands of other professing Christians. 

Why don't these people ever read the Bible? 

Job has been viciously attacked by professing believers at every turn in the midst of his misery and pain. Instead of concern, prayer, and ministry, he has received accusation, animosity and superiority. YET, there is no breaking his steadfast trust in God's ultimate redemption. Consider how he ends his response to Eliphaz's second speech:

Job 16:19–22 (NLT) Even now my witness is in heaven. My advocate is there on high. 20 My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God. 21 I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends. 22 For soon I must go down that road from which I will never return.

He is in pain, he is suffering, he is being unjustly attacked and he doesn't give up faith - instead, he sinks himself further into it. Job is modeling for us a steadfast trust in God in spite of what those who claim to speak for Him do to him.

Do you have that same kind of faith?

Or do you look to discredit the faith based on the behavior of others? Do you doubt God is real by the behavior of His adherents? Is your faith then in God or in man? I would caution you to listen to the words of Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 17:5 (ESV) Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.

Do you see it? Cursed are those who trust in man rather than God. Let me be clear: man will let you down. Even believing men will do unbelievable evil at times. Why? Because man still is flesh and flesh is sold to sin and sin is a stench in the life of faith. But God is faithful and true and Job relies on Him alone, not simply in a generic sense, but in the way we can rely on Him in Christ Jesus. 

Look at what Job longs for in verse 21: I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends.

He needs this mediator before the end of his life as stipulated in verse 22. Here's the Gospel on the lips of Job himself: You and I need someone to stand between God and us before we take our final breath. We need Jesus Christ, who bore our sins on the tree to bring us back to God in peace. We need someone who will undo the mess we made here so that we can arrive safely in heaven before the Father. Without that mediator we have only suffering and pain, doubt and shame to bear. 

Now when men let you down, remember they cannot do any of what Christ has done for you. They need Him as well. And the good news is that He is available to do for them what He has done for you. Which makes us all the same - sinners in need of a Savior - who is Christ, the Lord. 

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