Job 6

“Do I have the strength of a stone? Is my body made of bronze?” (Job 6:12, NLT)

Job was painfully aware of his own weakness. His body was broken, and he was in great agony of spirit. He was at the point where he wished that God would crush him to end his misery. But his friends treated him as though he were made of bronze. They withheld kindness and mercy from him.

The Bible has much to say about human weakness. David said that God knows our frame and remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:14). Jesus said that our spirit may be willing, but our flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). When the apostle Paul came to Corinth it was in weakness, fear and much trembling (1 Corinthians 2:3).

Job was correct when he implied that we don’t have the strength of a stone; our bodies are not made of bronze. They need rest and nourishment. A virus that we cannot even see can wipe us out. Our emotions can be crushed and our soul downcast. Our lives are a vapor, and we eventually die of heart disease, cancer or some other illness.

We do not have the strength of a stone, but we can come to the Rock.

“Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:1–2, NKJV)

Have you come to the Rock? Once that Rock was struck for our sins. But now we can speak to the Rock and receive living water for our thirsty souls. Enemies may surround you like the strong bulls of Bashan (Psalm 22:12). As with Job, your friends may disappoint you and prove to be a deceptive seasonal stream (Job 6:15). But God gives strength to the weak (Isaiah 40:29), and whoever trusts in the LORD will never be ashamed (Psalm 31:1).