Who Has Hardened Himself?

Scripture:

Job 9:4  "He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered?"

Observation:

Job answered his friend who was giving him advice about why he was in the condition he was in.  He gives us his outlook on God.  He tells us God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.  He goes on to ask the question, "Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered?"  He knew there was no sense hardening yourself toward God who is all-powerful.

Application:

Sometimes God doesn't do what we want Him to.  Sometimes God does things that don't make sense to us, or even hurt us.  We need to learn to be more like Job who realized it was useless to harden ourselves toward an almighty God.  Rather than harden ourselves when things go bad, we need to soften our hearts and learn of Him.  Rather than getting offended by God when things don't go as planned, we need to submit ourselves to Him and trust Him.

Prayer:

Father, teach me to follow You well.  Help me to never get a hard heart toward You or anyone else.  let my heart stay soft in Your hands.  Teach me to stay tender-hearted.

Yours,
Jeff