Job 30
1“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs. 2What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them? 3Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night. 4They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food. 5They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves, 6so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. 7They cried out among the shrubs and huddled beneath the nettles. 8A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land. 9And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them. 10They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. 11Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. 12The rabble arises at my right; they lay snares for my feet and build siege ramps against me. 13They tear up my path; they profit from my destruction, with no one to restrain them. 14They advance as through a wide breach; through the ruins they keep rolling in. 15Terrors are turned loose against me; they drive away my dignity as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed like a cloud. 16And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction grip me. 17Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest. 18With great force He grasps my garment; He seizes me by the collar of my tunic. 19He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes. 20I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer; when I stand up, You merely look at me. 21You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand. 22You snatch me up into the wind and drive me before it; You toss me about in the storm. 23Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living. 24Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress. 25Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy? 26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell. 27I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me. 28I go about blackened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. 29I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of ostriches. 30My skin grows black and peels, and my bones burn with fever. 31My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of weeping.
Life is short. Where are you going?
You just read God’s own words, and one day every one of us will stand before Him. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). This life will be over sooner than you think — do you know where you are going when it is?
The Bible says, “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). If you died today, would you be ready?
Are you a good person?
Most of us think we are. But God doesn’t measure us against other people — He measures us by His Law. Look honestly at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17):
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make for yourself an idol.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness.
- You shall not covet.
Have you ever told a lie — even a small one? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? Have you ever wanted what belongs to someone else? Jesus said that anyone who looks with lust “has already committed adultery … in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), and the Bible says “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).
If we’re honest, we have all broken God’s Law — and “whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). “There is no one righteous, not even one … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12).
That leaves every one of us guilty before a holy God. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). This is why our world is full of tragedy — and without Christ, every life ends in the greatest tragedy of all.
But God made a way
“God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus lived the perfect life we never could, and on the cross He took the punishment we deserved: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Three days later He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
It’s like standing guilty in court when the judge steps down and pays your fine himself. Forgiveness is a free gift — you can’t earn it: “It is by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God, not by works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” Jesus — John 10:10
What will you do with Jesus?
“Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15). Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus alone — “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Don’t put it off — “now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
And when you turn to Him, you won’t be met with a frown — you’ll be met with a celebration. Jesus said, “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). He is “mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness … He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Like the father who ran to embrace his lost son, He is waiting with open arms — and heaven throws a party when you come home (Luke 15:20–24).
If you died today, where would you spend eternity? Today you can be forgiven, made new, and have real, abundant life — now and forever.
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.