Discerning Faith from Desires

Job 22:19-30

19 "The righteous see it and are glad,
And the innocent laugh at them:
20 'Surely our adversaries are cut down,
And the fire consumes their remnant.'

21 "Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace;
Thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive, please, instruction from His mouth,
And lay up His words in your heart.

23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;
You will remove iniquity far from your tents.

24 Then you will lay your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
25 Yes, the Almighty will be your gold
And your precious silver;

26 For then you will have your delight in the Almighty,
And lift up your face to God.
27 You will make your prayer to Him,
He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.

28 You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you;
So light will shine on your ways.

29 When they cast you down, and you say, 'Exaltation will come!'
Then He will save the humble person.
30 He will even deliver one who is not innocent;
Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands."

Job’s accuser added to accusations of Job’s wickedness by saying that the real righteous would be glad to see the just due of the wicked.  He told Job to really get to know God to know peace and find good instead of suffering. He was to hear Gods words and store them inside, taking them to heart.  By so turning back to the LORD, Job would then be built back up, presumably as with possessions and children as formerly, and put off his sin which brought all this upon him from God (as Eliphaz thought).  He told Job to make God his treasure, not gold or silver.  He further counseled to find delight in God the Almighty and pray to Him while obeying according to all promises made to the LORD.  He would just na,e something and claim it as his own, finding God’s light of guidance.  By the humility and purity of good works, he would be delivered.  Now some of these things ring true, but some are ungodly advice.  To know God and follow Him by His word are good and right, but to find every whim of desired simply given as from a wishing well through a name it and claim it thinking is not walking by faith, but by selfish desires.  God alone gives good gifts as He wills, and is not our slave to give us whatever we desire, and not the testing of adversity or unpleasant circumstances.  May we discern these good bad, wise and unwise bits of truth from this passage.  We are to discern things of faith from our self serving desires.