Job 34-36

Daily Devotional from Job 36—

Verses 11-12
If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness. But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.

Elihu is making big claims here. In a way, his logic suggests that those who were martyred for Christ died because they were outside of God’s will. That would be silly to think.

You may have heard of the (false) “Prosperity Gospel”. It suggests that God’s will for all of His followers is rich and pleasant living. It’s easy to believe when things are going good, but when hardships come like sickness or financial troubles we might think a person is out of God’s will, if we believe only good should happen to a follower of Christ. But God never promised easy living. In fact, He said life will be difficult. But if we persevere, there is a good ending: we will be united with Him and never feel the sorrows and pains of this world again. When you are going through hard times, trust God, He has not turned His eyes away from you. He is watching and He loves you.

Brendan League