Daily Devotion for Lent 2025, Day 1 - Ash Wednesday

Today's Reading: Job, Chapter One

Job is a figure that is larger than life.  He's billed as sinless and goes to extraordinary attempts to keep his children safe from any possible divine wrath that one of their missteps might lead them into.  

In a sheerly ironic movement, perhaps if he had not quite been so perfect, he wouldn't have attracted the notice of the accuser (the Satan in the original Hebrew).

We see the heavenly court and this part of the story seems to be influenced by Greek religious understanding of that time.  We might imagine the various Greek gods and goddesses carrying out the same type of contest.  

It is important to note that Job is a theological book rather than a historical one.  It even starts like a fairy tale, "once upon a time..."  Certainly, the land of Uz is not known historically.  And so, we might think of Job as a parable that allows us to enter into a theological conversation.  What does it mean to suffer in this lifetime if you haven't done anything to deserve it?

If the world is unjust, is this God's fault?

We'll explore these questions and more over the next forty days as we read through Job.

In today's chapter, we see a couple of sayings that have made it into the wider culture:

"Naked I came into this world and naked I shall leave it."

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."

We don't hear the follow-up as often: "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Sometimes we can't hear any more bad news

Some might say that Job is in denial (one of the stages of grief) and isn't allowing the full measure of his grief to touch him yet (he'll get there).  His stoic nature has led to the wider cultural saying, "The patience of Job."

As we consider this chapter, it does make one ask the question, does my faithfulness to God depend upon circumstance?  As we consider this for our own lives, I think it is a question worthy of self-reflection.

Can I bless the Lord in all circumstances?  

Prayer for the day:

Gracious God, help us to wrestle with our faith during this season of Lent.  Give us a stronger sense of who we are today.  And as we move forward, may we honestly account for those places that we can celebrate with you.  At the same time, let us honestly account for those places where we fall short.  As we know your grace, may our path forward align with you more consistently each day.  Amen.

  

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash