YOUR STANDING BEFORE GOD

 

Job 23:10-12  But he knows where I am going.  And when he has tested me like gold in a fire, he will pronounce me innocent.  For I have stayed in God’s paths.  I have followed his ways and not turned aside.  I have not departed from his commands but have treasured his word in my heart.

Job was a man who knew his standing before God.  He lived life in such a way that the sufferings he was going through did not cause him to doubt his righteousness.  He didn’t understand why he was suffering, but he knew that all was well with his soul.

Job knew that God knew him and the righteousness of his heart.  He knew that God knew that he was going to be with Him once he died.  There was no shred of doubting on Job’s part.  We too can know where we are going when we die.  In fact, we must know it if we are going to overcome the many ups and downs of life. 

Sometimes our faith is tested.  We go through sufferings and tough times to find out just how real our faith really is.  It is easy to maintain faith when all is going well.  It is in the bad times that we discover how things really are in our souls. 

Job knew that God was going to declare his soul innocent.  He knew that God would not find fault with him.  How could he be so sure?  He stayed on God’s paths.  He did not get side-tracked by life.  He lived a righteous life all the time.  He sought always to know God’s ways and lived them.  Knowing God’s ways was a priority in Job’s life.  Job determined in his heart that he would only do what he knew what God wanted him to do with his life. 

Job treasured God’s Word in his heart.  Because he owned them for himself, he was able to live them out on a daily basis.  We too can live by God’s Word when we value it enough to hide it in our hearts so that we can be constantly directed and influenced by it.  There is no short cut to godly living.  We must always live by God’s Word.  It is only then that we can have bold confidence in our standing before God both now and forever.