I remember watching those poker tournaments on TV and the movies, where they got to the point of making their last bet. They thought they had the cards to win, and so the slid all their money across the table as their bet and said "All In!" That meant they did not have anything else and that they were willing to risk all that they had because of what they believed at that moment.
On the TV tournaments, you can see the supposed anguish on the faces of the players (gamblers). Many turn away totally disappointed and saddened. It's interesting that somehow they manage to come back the next week or month with another pile of money.
That was not the case with our friend Job however. After being lambasted [more]and put down by his older friends, he should have had no fire left in his belly. His will should have been crushed and his mouth left to babble in total frustration.
Not so!
Job laid out a scenario in chapter 31 that probably put his friends in a box. In effect, Job put it "all in." He put a big light on his life.
Would you be willing to utter the words of Job. They were more to the effect "If I have done anything wrong, then give me the punishment on the list!"
At every turn in this chapter, Job declares "here's the way to live, and here's the way I lived. I followed the rules, so why is all this happening to me?" Job decided he was going to wait for God to answer, and that he was going to wait patiently for Him to do that.
Job's words should be our guide. His analogies are easy to follow. He only asked that his life be judged with accurate scales. Job says, "If I have sinned, then let the punishment come." How many of us would be willing to yell that out while standing in the middle of our friends. More than likely, we would whisper it in our car or bathroom, and then add "but not yet!"
There was no unturned stone – Job held a light on his life that spoke of lust, falsehoods and adultery. He portrayed treatment of slaves, orphans and the poor. And then there were the "things" that life is all about.
Would you – could you speak the words that Job said here? Job's response to his problems was not a "maybe", it was that everything he had and ever did could stand as a witness. A witness to his belief that he served a just God, and he would leave his life on that altar.
It was like "If I have done anything wrong, strike me dead!"