Job 8:5-7 If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse Himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.  And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.

 Even though Bildad was being judgmental and maybe even a bit sarcastic in these verses, there was truth for us in what he was saying.  He was accusing Job of having committed some great secret sin and that everything that had happened was God punishing him when that wasn’t the case at all.  Let’s face it, Job’s friends and family weren’t very kind, all they did was try to figure out what was wrong with Job.  Instead of just listening and allowing him to “speak rashly” as it says in Job 6:2-3, “Oh that my vexation was weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!  For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash.”, his friends were judgmental jerks!  Job had been through more than any of us can imagine and he poured his heart out, out of his pain, and instead of just allowing him to rant, they judged him and his words and they believed the lies from satan.  We are to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2) by listening, caring, and praying, but no one needs our judgment on top of their pain.  Pray before you speak.  Make sure that what you are saying is from God, not just your frustration.  God will give you the grace you need to be a listening ear, ask Him for wisdom and love and His words to help you lift that burden a bit for those you love. There are times to speak the truth in love to others, just make sure that is what you are doing and that it is from God, satan loves to cause pain by using other Christians saying, “God told me to tell you..…”. There are times He does and there are times when we need to pray for discernment and God’s timing and that it is truly God and not just us wanting to get a point across that we feel needs to be said.   My Dad always used to say, “Think twice before you say anything!”

If you are the one today who is carrying way more on your shoulders than you can bear, hold on!  The words in the above verses are true!  Just because all Hell has come against you doesn’t always mean that you are living in sin, if you are then you know it and you need to confess it and make it right and run from that sin in your life!  Ask God to forgive you and free you from it!  But if you have been living, walking, talking, and breathing God and you just can’t figure out why…….., then know that He will fulfill all that He has promised!  Ignore those who want to judge and condemn you, they don’t know your heart and satan is just trying to heap up more sorrow and pain on your situation!  Do your best to avoid those who are dragging you down and hold on to God, know that He loves you and He is always good!  He will come through!  Seek Him with all your heart and know that even “if your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great!”  Truly His best is yet to come!

Let’s all keep this verse in mind today, no matter which side of this we are on Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”  If the words and meditations of your heart are right, then the words that come out of your mouth will be too!