Bible in a Year… Day 18 (Job 5-6)

It’s Wednesday again… time for more Biblical poetry (Job 5-6).

Today’s thoughts:

Job 5:17-18 (NIV)
¹⁷“Blessed is the man whom God corrects;
    so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

¹⁸For he wounds, but he also binds up;
    he injures, but his hands also heal.

In these verses, we find Job’s friend Eliphaz continuing his “encouragement”. He has linked Job’s suffering to sin he believes Job must have committed, and advises Job to realize the blessing of suffering God’s correction.

While Eliphaz was off-base in regard to his belief that Job must have sinned to incur such suffering, his advice is spot on… when God corrects us, the correction itself may be quite difficult to endure. But God’s intention for discipline, and the result? Healing. We’re made better… more complete… more holy.

We become people God can really use.

When is the last time you experienced God’s discipline? Can you attest to the fact that it’s a good thing, even if it’s not all that pleasant at the time?