Day 11: Job 29-31

I'm having a hard time looking through Job, so I found outside help from http://www.calvaryfullerton.org/Bstudy/18%20Job/2003/18Job%2029-31.htm.  This is copied and pasted, except for the NIV verse that was inserted for Job 30:11.

"Job 30:1 whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.

• People not fit to hang out with Job’s sheep dogs.

Job 30:11 Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me

• (Job 30:11 [NIV]) Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off restraint in my presence.

Job 30:14 in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.

• What a long way Job has come.  He used to be honored by the greatest of people.  Now he’s scorned and ridiculed by the lowest of people.

Lesson for Job 30 
What people think. I think it’s one of the hardest things in life to separate yourself from what others think of you. It seems that we each have people in our lives that we long to have approve of us. It’s not that we ought to feel this way, but truthfully we often do. What Job is expressing is very, very real for most of us.  We long to have “important” people fawn over us.  About the lowest humiliation we can think of is to have people we consider to be stupid ridiculing us. God’s hope is that we become more concerned about what He thinks of us than what people do." (http://www.calvaryfullerton.org/Bstudy/18%20Job/2003/18Job%2029-31.htm)

 

It's funny how I was recently discussing the same topic on my personal blog... I have a hard time dealing with people's opinions of myself.  It's always been a problem of mine, and it's gotten me into a lot of trouble in the past.  I guess peoples' opinions would pale in comparison to God's opinion if I really understand the value and depth of His love for me.  To know that Job struggled with this makes me feel like he is more of a real human than a character in a book.  It gives me some hope that I will overcome these trials one day too.