YEAR 3, WEEK 9, Day 3, Wednesday, 25 February 2026

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Job+26

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Wednesday, 25 February 2026:

Job 26:1-3 — Then Job answered and said: “How you have helped him who has no power! How you have saved the arm that has no strength! How you have counseled him who has no wisdom, and plentifully declared sound knowledge!”

Job responds with biting irony. Bildad has just spoken lofty truths about God’s sovereignty and human impurity, but Job exposes the disconnect between theological correctness and pastoral usefulness.

“How you have helped.” “How you have saved.” “How you have counseled.” The sarcasm is unmistakable.

Bildad’s words were principally true. God is sovereign. Man is impure. But they were not at all helpful to Job in understanding his present suffering. Instead of strengthening the weak, Bildad intensified the burden. Instead of bringing clarity, he brought accusation. Instead of comfort, he delivered condemnation.

This is a crucial lesson: truth misapplied can wound.

Bildad claimed understanding he did not truly possess. He presumed to interpret God’s actions without access to God’s purposes. He used biblical principles to assign blame in a situation he did not comprehend.

We must not only know Scripture; we must know how to apply it properly. Knowledge alone is insufficient. Wisdom is knowledge rightly applied. Wisdom discerns timing, tone, and context. Wisdom understands that not every true statement is helpful in every moment. Wisdom recognizes when silence is more faithful than speech.

Job is not rejecting theology; he is rejecting shallow theology.

There is a difference between declaring “sound knowledge” and ministering grace. The former can inflate pride. The latter requires humility. To speak for God demands reverence and restraint. It requires the awareness that we see only fragments of what He sees fully.

Before quoting Scripture into someone’s suffering, we must ask: am I illuminating or indicting? Am I clarifying or crushing? Am I representing God’s heart, or merely displaying my grasp of doctrine?

Truth without love hardens. Truth with wisdom heals.

Job 26:4 — With whose help have you uttered words, and whose breath has come out from you?

Job presses further. Where did your insight originate? Are you truly speaking by God’s Spirit, or by your own confidence? This question should sober every teacher, counselor, and friend. The ability to recite truth does not guarantee divine authorization in its delivery.

Job 26:5-14 — The dead tremble… He stretches out the north over the void…. By his wind the heavens were made fair…. Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways….

Job then turns to a breathtaking description of God’s cosmic power. He speaks of the depths, the heavens, the suspension of the earth over nothing, the boundaries of light and darkness. His theology is not inferior to Bildad’s — it is deeper.

And then he concludes: these are only the outskirts of His ways. A whisper of His power. How small a word we hear of Him. This is the humility Bildad lacked. Even after surveying creation’s grandeur, Job confesses how little he understands. True wisdom ends in awe.

Job acknowledges that God’s greatness exceeds human articulation. The problem is not that God lacks power; it is that humans lack comprehension. The Almighty governs realms we cannot map and purposes we cannot measure.

When you truly grasp how vast God is, you speak more carefully, not more confidently.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 25 February 2026: Discernment. Before offering counsel today, pause. Ask whether your words will truly strengthen the weak. Pray for wisdom, not merely recall. Choose one situation where you will listen more than you speak. If you share truth, do so with humility and love. Let your knowledge serve healing, not ego.

Pray: “Father, You are vast beyond my comprehension. Guard me from shallow confidence and careless application of Your Word. Teach me not only to know truth, but to apply it with wisdom. Keep me humble in suffering and gentle in counsel. Let my words reflect Your heart, not my pride. Help me represent You faithfully, speaking when You lead, silent when You restrain. In Jesus’ name, amen.”