The Right Desires Bring Hope – Job Part 8

My days have passed, my plans are shattered. Yet the desires of my heart turn night into day; in the face of the darkness light is near. If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in the realm of darkness, if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’ where then is my hope—who can see any hope for me? Job 17:11-16 NIV

My days have passed, my plans are shattered.  We all go through life with certain expectations of how our lives will turn out, and once we get established in a job, and start a family our future begins to take shape and our expectations become more defined. Job was no different. He was living a life most of us would admire. He was successful, wealthy, well respected and was enjoying his wife and kids. Then everything changed! Perhaps you can relate. It only takes a day, one tragic event for our plans to be shattered; one phone call, one diagnosis, one bad decision and everything changes.

Yet the desires of my heart turn night into day; in the face of the darkness light is near.  How did Job make it through the pain? How did he keep moving forward? It was the desires of his heart that gave him light in the darkness. The deep longings in his heart gave him hope and kept him going. Desire is extremely powerful; it influences our emotions and either gives us hope or leads us into despair, so it’s critical that we desire the right things!  For Job to make this statement, I’ve no doubt there were some desires he had to wrestle to the ground. He must have longed for his children, for healing, for some level of restoration. Though these are all natural responses, they had the power to lead him into despair very quickly. He could not allow them to become his focus! Instead he had to leave these things in the hands of God. If God saw fit to heal him, he would be healed. If God decided to bless him with more children, he would be grateful. But these were not the desires of his heart that turned night into day or gave him light in the face of darkness. So what was it that Job’s heart longed for?

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes— I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19:25-27 NIV

When all that brings happiness had been stripped away, Job’s heart yearned for one thing: God! Job longed for the day he would stand before God, face to face and see him with his own eyes! That was the desire that brought light to the darkness and gave Job hope!

Here’s bottom line, God, alone, must be the desire of our heart! We must trust God to decide what else we need in our lives, then leave every other desire in His hands! I believe that’s a powerful lesson we can learn from Job!

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