“Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me?” (Job 7:12)

Job thought God was persecuting him, and tells God he doesn’t deserve such treatment. “Are not my days few? Cease! Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort” (Job 10:20).

The sea is actually more reliable than man, and doesn’t require correction as man does. The sea obeys God. “‘Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?” (Jeremiah 5:22). The sea obeys the moon, with consistent tides that can be predicted to the minute, years ahead, but man is ruled by “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16).

But God saw the problem, and promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you … I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26–27). “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Whether you’re a sinner who needs to submit to Christ as Lord and Savior, or a saint who’s backslidden, “submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:7–10).

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