The description of the fire-breathing dragon in Job has always intrigued me. You can find it in Job 41. The King James renders its name “leviathan,” and the end of the chapter calls him the king over all the children of pride. This is the very last thing God describes before Job declares his repentance. In truth, it is this king over pride that we all must meet so we can recognize our need for an unlimited, all-powerful, perfectly sovereign God.
Before I faced the giants of life, I had much to say about the struggles of others. For example, I was a much better parent before I became a parent. My children were never going to do the things those other parents let their children do. For the record, however, all of my children have done all the things they were never supposed to do. They have brought me face to face with my pride, and I am much humbler today than I was before I had children!
It is so easy to think we know ourselves until the things completely out of our control bring us to our knees. The blessing of being on our knees, however, is that we are finally in a position to ask God for help. We finally know we need Him.
The leviathan may not leave his oily trail behind him today, defying every weapon that man aims his direction, but the leviathans of life are still alive and well. We need them, really, to help us see things as they are, not as we wish they were. Those who have been humbled by these giants make far better counselors than those who have not yet faced many hard things.
Job was charged with praying for those who had raked him over the coals for the last 38 chapters, and that is exactly what the giants of life teach us to do for others. They make us acknowledge our own faults so that we pray for those who unknowingly hurt us and hurt others with their foolish counsel. We no longer believe we are the end of all wisdom and have the answers to all of life’s problems. We are finally able to point people to the only One who does.
This is the kind of judgment Jesus is describing in Matthew 7:1-5. We really have no business judging, but we can direct others to the same help we need this side of heaven.
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
If you are facing a leviathan today, welcome him. He is a gift that will aid you with helping others tomorrow. Have a blessed weekend, my friends.
His Song in the Night 