Fear God and Shun Evil
Job is the perfect example of what it takes to be a blameless and upright follower of the One True God. God, Himself, even asked Satan, if he had noticed His servant, Job.(Job 1:8) How did God know Job could withstand the trials of losing all of his earthly possessions and his health and remain totally faithful to Him? He saw that Job did two things: feared God and shunned evil.
When we desire to be a fully devoted follower of the Lord, it is not enough to just love Him and fear Him, we must hate evil, too. Many people never learn this truth. The fear of the Lord means that we know who He is. He is Holy and All-Powerful. Therefore, He does not condone sin, and He can destroy us any time. That is why there is an element of fear. We love Him, but we know we sin, so we respect His power in punishing us. Then, we must hate evil to the point that we do not want to do evil. Then, we will not justify sinning, because we love God. When we get to that point, as believers, we can withstand any trials, just like Job did. Why would we be unfaithful to God? We love and fear Him, and we hate evil, so our only option is to trust Him, even if we do not understand what is going on.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 2-4.
When we desire to be a fully devoted follower of the Lord, it is not enough to just love Him and fear Him, we must hate evil, too. Many people never learn this truth. The fear of the Lord means that we know who He is. He is Holy and All-Powerful. Therefore, He does not condone sin, and He can destroy us any time. That is why there is an element of fear. We love Him, but we know we sin, so we respect His power in punishing us. Then, we must hate evil to the point that we do not want to do evil. Then, we will not justify sinning, because we love God. When we get to that point, as believers, we can withstand any trials, just like Job did. Why would we be unfaithful to God? We love and fear Him, and we hate evil, so our only option is to trust Him, even if we do not understand what is going on.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 2-4.