Job 41:1: “Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?”

January 5th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In chapter 41, God pointed Job to another beast He called Leviathan as an example of His power. Leviathan is a word that appears in 5 other Old Testament texts. The name Leviathan comes from a Hebrew word that means twisted or coiled. In all the verses, Leviathan refers to some mighty creature that can easily overwhelm man but is no match for God. Many animals have been suggested, from whales to crocodiles to dinosaurs, but the point God was making remains, no matter which animal you chose to identify it as. God is mightier than the Leviathans in our lives.

American pastor and theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote what is known as “The Serenity Prayer.” Many only know the first line. However, the entire prayer is necessary and helpful when we find ourselves in Job-like struggles in our own lives:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

“LORD, this is our prayer for ourselves today.”