Living Life with Jesus

Job 15-16

Job 15

Eliphaz (Job’s friend) is tearing down Job’s hope in God. In 15:8, Eliphaz says, “Do you limit wisdom to yourself? What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in is?” Eliphaz is confused because Job keeps bringing his case to the Lord, keeps pleading and praying to God, and still has hope that the Lord will save him. In Eliphaz’ mind, Job should just give up and accept his “punishment” and forsake the Lord since the Lord has seemingly forsaken Job.

But, here’s what Eliphaz doesn’t understand. It’s not WHAT Job knows, it’s WHO Job knows. Job knows God, therefore he has hope in God. Eliphaz thinks Job is too young to be “wise” but no one is too young to know the Lord.

Job 16

Job tells Eliphaz that if the roles were reversed, Job could bring down Eliphaz in the same manner, but he wouldn’t. He would try and comfort him and be a good friend.

Today I’m repenting, praying for forgiveness. I have been Eliphaz…I have completely torn down my friends and judged them and refused to see their innocence. Like Eliphaz, I’ve been cruel. The Lord has brought this to my attention today and I’m grateful that He convicts us. I’m also thankful that He forgives us…and I pray that I can be a better and true friend in the future. In Jesus name I repent and am forgiven, Amen.

Job 12-14

Job 12

Job responds to his three friends and is like, “ok guys, we all know that this is from the hand of God because everything is from God! Even the birds and fish know that. But you guys are mocking me by telling me that it’s MY fault.” Job wanted friends who would comfort him, and all they did was accuse him of bringing this upon himself. I think it’s important to note that Job’s friends did not act very lovingly and I’m sure we are all guilty of the same thing to my friends…I know that I am! When a friend is going through hard times we need to treat them with love and support and not accuse them of bringing it on themselves.

Job 13

After Job’s response in chapter 12, he calls out his friends’ wrongdoing and says that they aren’t righteous either and someday they will have to defend their actions. This kind of relates to Jesus’ famous saying of “let him who is without sin throw the first stone.” Job understands that all men are guilty of something and his friends should lay off.

Job 13:15, “Though He slay me (Job), yet I will trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him. (16) He also shall be my salvation, for a hypocrite could not come before Him.” I just love that even though Job is suffering, and mad, and confused, He always stays faithful to God.

Job 14

Job knows that all men sin as soon as they are born, 14:1 states, “Man who is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” And Job is kind of saying, “I did the best I could, but I’m not perfect because I’m human.” Then in 14:4 he says, “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?” Again, this is paving the way for Jesus because He was born perfect, He is a clean thing out of an unclean; He is the perfect human.

Job 14:13, “Oh that You would hide me in the grave, that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past.” Job has faith that this will come to pass and that the only one who can protect him from it is God.

Job 10 and 11

Job 10 is a great example of how to come to God with our emotions- to be our true selves and be honest with Him. Job is so clearly suffering and he gives it to God. But Job does not forget who God is and what God has done for him. In 10:12 Job states, “You have granted me life and favor, and Your care has preserved my spirit.” We can be emotionally distressed and we can bring it to God- He is big enough to handle it! But we must try and remember that He is the Lord of all and our ultimate hope is in Him.

Job 11- Zophar, Job’s third friend, is pretty mean to Job and offers him no hope. At the end, Zophar says, “and thier (wicked people) hope- loss of life!” (11:20). Zophar doesn’t even acknowledge the Job he knew before the curse. He’s just like, “well, if God is treating you this way, you must be wicked.” I think that’s another mindset that God was trying to break. God is ultimately just and Jesus has paid the price for our sins already so that we can cling onto Him for life. But in the short term (a human lifespan), God may not seem fair. Wicked people may go on for years gaining power and success before paying God’s price. And like Job, righteous people may suffer for a time but it all fits into God’s big plan.

I pray today for those who are suffering to take their claims, emotions, and true selves to God- give it all to Him. I pray that we remember who God is and where our hope comes from and that we have faith in His big plan, although we may not understand it. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Job 8 and 9

Job 8

Bildad, another of Job’s friends, is telling Job that his sons must have died because of their sins and that Job needs to be “pure and upright” (v. 6) to regain the Lord’s favor. Unlike Eliphaz, who was encouraging Job to pray and bring his worries to God, Bildad is telling Job to be better somehow. I don’t think that is great advice…and could be discouraging especially since Job was already a righteous guy.

All sin does have consequences and we do need to repent. But sometimes bad things happen even without sin as a cause, and that’s something important to glean from this book.

Job 9

Job is understanding a little more who God is. He is the creator AND the destroyer. He gives AND He takes away. Very little of His will actually has to do with us. God can move mountains, command the sun, cause the Earth to shake, “seal off the stars”, and everything else imaginable. God is sovereign. And Job even knows that if he had his “day in court” with God that no man could be righteous in His presence- because God is the almighty. Job asks for a mediator for the “day in court.” Well, Job didn’t have one, but we do- Jesus. Jesus is the only man who can stand up-righteous- in the Lord’s court and Jesus pleads on our behalf. And Jesus has already paid the price for our sins. Hallelujah, praise Jesus!

This takes me back to my theory from chapter 4, maybe Job’s story had to happen to pave the way for Jesus- to show the need for a holy mediator.

I pray today for all those suffering from covid-19 and the quarantine. I pray we place our trust and hope in the Lord. We remember that He is in full control and is God Almighty. And I pray we place our trust in Jesus- who is in the court of the Lord, pleading on our behalf right now. And thank you, Jesus, for already paying the ultimate price for our sins so that we may have life. Amen.

Job 5

Although Eliphaz was wrong about WHY God was doing this to Job, he did something a good friend should do. He advised Job to go to God with his troubles. Verse 8 says, “But as for me (Eliphaz), I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.” And for the rest of the chapter, Eliphaz reminds Job of God’s goodness and encourages Job to place his hope in the Lord.

When a friend comes to us with troubles, we should advise them to seek the Lord, just like Eliphaz. We need to give examples of His goodness, which means we have to know examples of His goodness by reading the bible and keeping track of His blessings in our own lives.

Job 4

In chapter 4, Eliphaz (one of Job’s friends) is assuming that all of Job’s troubles must be because of some sin. My bible (edited by Charles F. Stanley) has a really interesting footnote that says, “No one was ever more innocent than Jesus, yet He perished for our sins.” I’m speculating here, but maybe God allowed this to happen to Job to break the idea that being “good” always leads to blessings and sinning always leads to ruin, because God had to prepare our hearts and minds for Jesus. Jesus never sinned, He was perfect in all ways and He still perished. God claimed that Job was one of the most righteous men alive and yet God allowed Job to suffer…we don’t know why and we don’t get to know why. But we do know that God has a bigger plan than any of us can comprehend and maybe part of that big plan was to prepare us for Jesus.

On another note, in verse 8, Eliphaz says, “Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the blast of God they perish And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.” We know that Eliphaz was wrong because we have the whole story…that God wasn’t punishing Job at all. So, sometimes our own personal histories do not represent the true big picture that God is operating in.

God has a plan and we don’t get to know it all, nor could we comprehend it. We must keep our trust and our hope in Him and praise Him always.

Job 2

Job 2:10, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”

Job saw both sides of the coin and knew that it was important to follow the Lord and be faithful to Him no matter what the circumstances are. We can’t just love God in the good times- we gotta love Him all the time and trust in His plan.

Job 2:11-13

Job’s friends just sat with him for 7 days and 7 nights and didn’t even talk. Sometimes we just need to be with our friends.

Job 1

Job was a man who feared God and God gave him many blessings and protection. Satan questions Job’s motives: does Job only worship God because of all the blessings? Satan does not love or respect humans and doesn’t think Job has an actually good character to still fear God if everything was taken from him. God does love humans and thinks that Job will still have good character- even if all the blessings are taken. So God allowed Satan to remove all the blessings from Job’s life. I know from The Bible Project video (https://bibleproject.com/explore/job/) that God had a divine purpose (more complex than we can comprehend) but maybe a part of that was to teach Satan a lesson about humans?

Some people today might be feeling like Job felt in verses 1:13-20. In one moment, Job found out he had lost all of his property (his livelihood) and his children. Because of Covid-19, in one week or day some people are losing their jobs, losing their food source, support system, everything is changing and some of us might feel like Job. I identified so closely with my job that when I found out my job was cancelled, I had lots of anxiety and I felt like I had lost my SELF. But verse 20 says, “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped.” What a great example to follow. I feel free from the bounds of my career now. I pray for all people who are going through it to bow down and worship and pray. Job grieves- we can grieve and argue and have all our emotions- but we need to direct them to the Lord- where our hope lies.

God Takes Time

This morning I read a couple chapters in Esther and I bowed my head to pray and I started having a pity-party for myself. I was feeling like I’ll never measure up to Esther or any other biblical person and God gave me a revelation.

Things in the bible did not happen quickly. Every message, every letter, took days or weeks to deliver. Esther was married for years before she was able to help. She hadn’t even seen her husband (the king) in 30 days when she found out about the decree. God takes time to move and work. Whole generations of people were exiled (different times) for many years before being saved. We live in a world of instant communication, so it’s hard to imagine the actual time span it took just to communicate in the bible. I mean, we are reading about whole lifespans in just a few pages. The people of the bible had 1-5 small acts of obedience in their entire lifespan that changed history. Noah was already like 100 years old when he got his moment.

And that leads me to my next point: it’s not about Noah. It’s not about Esther or Peter or Paul or any of the people- it’s about God. So I don’t need to feel worthless. It’s just about obeying Him when He prompts me, searching for His heart and being faithful and loyal. There are plenty of faithful people who didn’t get into the bible and that’s okay because it’s not about us, it’s about Him and He’s already done so many amazing things in my life. For one, He brought be into a real relationship with Him a few years back and hasn’t left my side. Even before that He has always been with me, taken care of me, and shown me miracles. I feel more blessed than others, so I shouldn’t be having a pity party. God takes time and I’ve already had a lifetime’s share of blessings and He’s not even finished. I don’t need to be famous, or great, or a leader. I just need to obey and trust and follow Him. He will lead me down the best path.

P.S. Thank you God for this revelation…pity party over.

Nehemiah 6-9

I’m a little behind on posting anything so you’re getting a bundle today.

Nehemiah 6:13 says, “For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.”

Nehemiah was doing the Lord’s work (rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem) and the Devil tried to stop him by tricking him and by MAKING HIM AFRAID. Fear is the enemy’s tool which is why God often tells us “Do not be afraid.” If someone claims to have a Godly message but it invokes fear and involves sin, it is NOT from God, but it is a trick from the enemy. Be careful, the more Godly work you do, the more the Devil will try and stop you. Stay grounded in the Lord and in prayer. When the wall was completed, the enemies were disheartened. Being a Christian and treating everyone with love does not mean that everyone will be HAPPY. The enemies of the Lord will be disheartened when they see His work being completed.

Nehemiah 8:10, “Then he (Ezra) said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

I think this is a great encouragement as a way to behave on Sundays, but also as a way to of thinking all the time. Ezra is telling the people, “don’t sorrow.” We need to hear that. Some of us are thinking, “how will I ever get through this?” The JOY of the Lord is our STRENGTH. Rejoice in the Lord, allow His joy to fill your bones, and you will find strength.

Nehemiah 9 is a history of all the Lord has done. — If you skipped all the other books of the bible and only read Nehemiah 9, you’d be all caught up ;)– Jokes aside, we need to realize that it’s important to recount the works of the Lord, often. There are many places in the bible when someone stands up and recounts all the Lord has done for the people so far. We seem to forget what the Lord has done for us rather quickly, so it’s important to always be reminding ourselves and others.

Also, the recounting that is given in Nehemiah 9 has a very clear pattern:

God makes a promise/covenant with His people
The people rebel/sin and provoke Him to anger
God gives His people a consequence (He is a righteous and just God, after all)
The people cry out and repent
God forgives them and restores His covenants
Repeat steps 2-6 forever until Jesus comes back to save us all…

We (humans) keep rebelling! And our God is a just God, so we get consequences. But He never totally forsakes us and He’s always ready to pardon us and He hears us when we cry out to Him. We need to be crying out to Him now and repenting of our sins. He will hear us, and He hasn’t forsaken us. He will save us again.

I’ll leave you with some verses of encouragement from Nehemiah 9:

Verse 17: …But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them.

Verse 19: Yet in Your manifold mercies, You did not forsake them in the wilderness.

Verse 27: …When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; and according to Your abundant mercies, You gave them deliverers who saved them…

Verse 30: Yet for many years You had patience with them.

Verse 31: Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious and merciful.

Rejoice in our Lord today. Amen.