January 11 – Job 29-31

Today’s reading comes from Job 24-28. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

This morning I had an interesting conversation with Marty about the pain and ridicule that came from fans while playing a sport. As a pitcher he said he had to learn selective hearing to not hear the things fans would say when not having his best day on the mound. We know negative words hurt. I wander how much the negative words hurt Job?

In chapter thirty Job had heard the negative words of those around him … “But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.” (Job 31:1 NIV84) I wander if the negative words drove his depression deeper? I wander if Job would have suffered as long and hard as he had if the words from his friends … if the words from the casual observer had been positive, uplifting, and encouraging?

Friends, there is power in the words we say. Words can be deathly destructive or they can be life building. How do your words build up and encourage? Do you work hard to make sure others are uplifted, or do you find yourself constantly tearing others down? How can you be more uplifting? I think if we were to find the positive words in our heart and suppress the negative our world might look strikingly different.