Today's Passage:  Job 4

Have you ever had a really bad week?  If you are anything like me, you have probably experienced a couple of bad weeks throughout your adulthood.  We know that hard times are part of life.  For every good there seems to be a bad, for summer there is winter, for mountains there are valleys.  The question we all know but often ignore is not, "What do I do if bad times come?"  Rather it is, "What do I do when bad times come?" 

Job 4 is filled with the tension of how Job is going to respond in a difficult time.  Job is a blameless man who has done much for many (4:2-4).  Now he is experiencing pain, he is asked by Eliphaz where his confidence will come from.  Job being a religious and upstanding man can certainly put all his confidence in who he is.  But should he?  If he does, he will certainly only be able to focus on his works and accomplishments.  Rather, Job should (and does!) put his confidence in God himself.  So if you are going through a trial right now (or if you are not you soon will be), where is your confidence?  Is it in your abilities?  Or is it in God himself who is the creator and sustainer of the entire world?  Today spend some time reflecting on how specifically you are placing your confidence in God.