January 11 – Job 29-31

Today’s reading comes from Job 24-28. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

This morning I had an interesting conversation with Marty about the pain and ridicule that came from fans while playing a sport. As a pitcher he said he had to learn selective hearing to not hear the things fans would say when not having his best day on the mound. We know negative words hurt. I wander how much the negative words hurt Job?

In chapter thirty Job had heard the negative words of those around him … “But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.” (Job 31:1 NIV84) I wander if the negative words drove his depression deeper? I wander if Job would have suffered as long and hard as he had if the words from his friends … if the words from the casual observer had been positive, uplifting, and encouraging?

Friends, there is power in the words we say. Words can be deathly destructive or they can be life building. How do your words build up and encourage? Do you work hard to make sure others are uplifted, or do you find yourself constantly tearing others down? How can you be more uplifting? I think if we were to find the positive words in our heart and suppress the negative our world might look strikingly different.

January 10 – Job 24-28

Today’s reading comes from Job 24-28. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

The final line of today’s reading really struck me hard … “And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord-That is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28 NIV) Friends, that sums up Job’s entire discourse with his friends.

All throughout they have had this constant battle back and forth about what has brought these calamities upon Job. His friends blame some hidden sin issue in his life. While Job realizes that could be it, he knows he has lived his life in an effort to worship and praise God with it. In today’s reading we have even seen the back and forth about what happens to evil people. Job paints the most beautiful picture of what end will eventually come to those who choose to live the wicked path of life. That fullness is realized in the eternal separation from God if a life saving/changing relationship with Jesus is never gained.

After all this back and forth Job concludes with his friends that wisdom is worth more than any precious stone, any precious ore from the ground, or any of the riches conceived by man. Wisdom is a high value commodity, and the root of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

Friends, do you fear God? I think when we hear this phrase we too quickly run to that idea of something horrible, something scary, and something that will endanger us. While that may be a part of the definition it is only a part. I think in fear there is a healthy amount of respect. As an adult I no longer fear the wrath of my parents or the negative they can do to me. But because they are my parents, because of the blessings they have shared with me, the lessons they have taught me, and the roots they have given me I have a healthy respect for their thoughts, opinions, and guidance. This respect comes from the love they have shown me. I think this is the similar fear of God that we would be wise to have.

God does not correct, God does not teach, God does not allow hardships in life just because he thinks we need punishment. I believe these things happen to mold and shape us into the people he desires us to be. God is like the master potter at work. I will end by leaving this verse from the New Testament in your minds … “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10 NIV84)

January 9 – Job 21-23

Today’s reading comes from Job 21-23. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

In his back and forth Job and his friends continue to discuss what has brought this calamity on. In chapter twenty-one Job describes the wicked, the immoral of the earth. The way he sees it, the wicked live on, sometime in elegance while the righteous get by with little means … “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes.” (Job 21:7-8 NIV84).  Toward the end of the chapter in verse thirty-three he remarks how people follow after the wicked.

In Job’s mind the world is backwards. The wicked are blessed and followed while the righteous, those who strive to honor God, seem to suffer heartache and isolation. We might even argue with Job. We see similar things play out in our world. One of the most humble righteous seeking people of the twentieth century, Mother Teresa, had no personal wealth and seemed to wrestle with her isolation. On the other side of the coin we look at Hollywood and we see people who are immoral, dishonest, and wicked in many regards awarded with fame and fortune.

However, I wander if we are considering blessedness true blessedness when we evaluate it against fame and fortune? I think we, like Job and his friends may evaluate God’s blessings differently than God does. I don’t think that thought was lost on Job … “But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:8-10 NIV84) I think Job knows and understands where true blessings come from.

So how do you define blessings? Do you measure them the way the world does? Do you measure them the way God does? And exactly how does God measure blessings?

January 8 – Job 17-20

Today’s reading comes from Job 17-20. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Again we see the back and forth between Job and his friends. Job is in serious torment after suffering the loss of everything and even his health has been effected. His friends keep lobbying that it is his sin that has been the cause of these calamities. Job has not fully denied this, but continually points that he has lived seeking to honor God in all he does, and has repented for the wrongs he commits. Friends, I think this is the proper lifestyle to follow. Still job cannot understand why God is allowing all this to happen.

While Job’s friends are not correct in their blame of Job’s calamities on sin, they are correct in their description about what does happen to wicked men. Bildad the Shuhite describes a wicked man in Job 18:5-21. Take a moment and go back and read those verses. In these verses we are given a glimpse of what happens to the wicked man:

• His lamped is snuffed out
• Light goes out
• His step is weakened
• Trapped by the heal
• A noose is hidden for him
• Death’s firstborn devours his limbs.
• The memory of him parishes from the earth
• Driven from light to darkness
• Such is the place of one who does not know God.

This does not paint a pretty picture. While I do not find this to describe the character of Job, I do find it to describe what happens to the wicked person. And while sometimes on this earth the wicked seem to have the blessings of God in material possessions, let’s remember that without a life saving relationship with Jesus Christ, they have no true hope, they have no true light, they have no eternal blessings! And that is an important and powerful lesson to remember.

As a side note, we are called as followers of Christ to love our enemies. We are to desire that no one perish without hope. So let’s remember, no matter how much someone has hurt you, wronged you, or been incredibly wicked to someone else, we should desire to teach them about a life saving relationship with Jesus Christ. God desires this for even the most wicked people on this earth.

January 7 – Job 14 – 16

Today’s reading comes from Job 14-16. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Today’s reading begins by Job describing the number of days man has been allotted. Verses one through five are a beautiful illustration that in the grand scheme of this earth our days are just a mere blip on the screen. I love his words when Job says … “They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.” (Job 14:2 NIV84). This descriptively details how short our lives are.

While this opening today describes the vapor with which life exists, it by no means says that we each do not have important work to accomplish. We each have a purpose to serve and live out. Whether that is in being a good and faithful spouse, a solid rock for your children, an example of Christ in your neighborhood, a dependable employee, or any multitude of other responsibilities you carry, we are all important to the people around us.

We each have an important role to play in the lives around us. Investing in people is incredibly important. And with little time on this earth to leave a mark, it means each day is an important opportunity for you to get busy. What can you do in your life to ensure that each day you take the opportunity to invest in others to help love them and build them up? Possible even to help love and lead them to a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ!

January 6 - Job 10 - 13

Today’s reading comes from Job 10-13. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

To be completely transparent the book of Job has always been a little strange to me. The back and forth that takes place between the Job and his friends has always baffled me. To be truly transparent, I have never read through Job more than two times before this one. So I am not a scholar by any means.

In various classes, sermons, and other places I have always heard that Job’s friends are really not helpful in counseling him. As I read the back and forth between them I even see Job share that with his friends … “Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!” (Job 13:2 NIV84). That is not high praise for his friends who have come to his aid.

I wander if there is a nugget of truth we can find here in this counseling session. When I read the words of Job and his friends as they describe God I find myself nodding my head in agreement. What they all say is in agreement with what I find throughout the rest of scripture. So why are they not helpful? I think it is the approach they have come at Job with. Job has just come through the worst event any human could suffer through. While the words they share speak truth about God, it really isn’t what Job needs to hear.

If we wanted to, we could probably find some fault in Job. Has he closed himself off to the counsel and compassion of his friends? I don’t know. I can tell you this; I do not know how I would react to the counsel of friends if I had experienced what Job had. So while he may not respond well, maybe it is the best he can do following his tragedy.

I think there is a lesson here for us … How do we compassionately and lovingly support someone who has gone through a challenging time in life? Do we always strive to point out the reasons they have gone through this tragedy pointing to their faults? Or do we first show them love and support and over time, as they are ready to look back, use their struggles as a teaching time? Finally, how do we respond to those who are doing the best they can to be comforting and supporting when we have hit rock bottom?