From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will touch you. (Job 5:19)
Oh, what a word of comfort we have before us today in the words that Eliphaz the Temanite spoke to Job! To be sure, calamities will come our way, for we have been promised trouble on this side of the grave. Yet even in calamitous desperation we experience cosmic deliverance.
Eliphaz spoke a truth that we must forever keep in view: greater is the power that is in us than any power that comes against us. That is why we are to face any and all waves of challenge that confront us with confident assurance . . . because our Redeemer has promised our rescue.
In the first half of today’s passage, we might see those six calamities as representing six days of the week, leaving us one day of rest to be refreshed and renewed by our Redeemer before the next calamity comes calling. But in the last part of the passage, we see that seven calamities span the full week, with no rest day to recover. Yet even with no rest for the weary one travelling toward the Celestial City, no harm will touch you! Rightly understood, today’s verse should be a source of unimaginable comfort to us, no matter what calamities beset us.
Regardless of the trials you are facing—whether they come in sixes with a day to rest and recover, or even if they roll in on you in relentless waves of seven with seemingly no end in sight—fear not! Your heavenly Father has promised to rescue you without fail. Remember, when we face the storms in seasons of seven, with no letup in the winds that are howling around us, our rest is not to be found in the day, but in our Deliverer. Even during the most intense storms, our Savior is our shelter; we can rest assured that He will carry us through to the other side of the storm, more conformed to the image of Christ than we were before.
Repeated rescue is the promise from our Redeemer God. May that truth set us free today to rise above any and all storms, knowing that we are safe in the omnipotent arms of our Savior.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 