I remember one time when my wife and I put an office chair together. We struggled because some of the parts didn’t line up. The product was defective and things didn’t fit together. When things don’t line up, we don’t have a chance. It’s the same with our life plan. If it doesn’t fit with what God wants, it’s not going to work. If our life plan lines up with what God has laid out, we can then be made into people of great usefulness for His glory.

We note in reading Job 31 today that Job claims that his life plan lines up. He said that he had been a faithful husband, a family man, a fair employer, a concerned person for the needy, and a law abiding citizen. He claims to be a man of the right attitudes and behavior towards others and the community in which he lives.

From the beginning of the book of Job, we know that Job lost his children, his livestock, and his property. He then had painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head (Job 2:7). 

During these third round of speeches, accomplished are two sides of the story much like during a trial when we have witnesses and a judge. Job says he has always been a man of integrity but his friends say he is going through difficulty because he is being punished.

Since the Garden of Eden, the world became a place of deception. We don’t know which side to believe. We can be thankful that God has entered in through Jesus Christ to make the path clear towards a brighter future.

It is worldly deception entering into the heart that leads to mediocrity. There is a need to be honest with ourselves and have the attitude of knowing where we fall short and what we need to do. The solution is to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. To then absorb the excellence of the Lord. His truth begins to clear out mediocrity and set us on a superior path.

This day with You God, we know about your high standards and the only way for us to meet these standards is to accept our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You have given us the Holy Spirit, grace, and the power to help us grow each day towards these higher standards that You desire. We pray that studying Your Word today has prepared us to step ahead along the path to excellence and away from the path of deception.