Category: JOB

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day six)

Reflections on Job 3 and Psalm 37:4 while in Kenya.

Would I take delight in the Lord if I had no fresh water to drink, or a bath to stay clean? Would I take delight in the Lord if I had little food to eat? Would I take delight in the Lord if I slept on a dirt floor, and my little brother didn’t make it past four? And what if I had no father who cared, and a mother who had no time to spare? Would I take delight in him then? What if rather than a little, I had nothing at all, and all life around me seemed to hang on only by a thread? Would I take delight in him rather than dread?

Would I take delight in him?

But what if I saw his promise in the colored banner that arched across the sky, or the sun which gave its merciful light? Would I take delight in the Lord? What if I saw that tooth filled smile, and the purest laughter without pretense or guile? The boy kicking the thread bare ball, and my sister with her stick-thatched doll, what if I saw the simplest joy in it all? Or what if someone touched me, and told me of the SON who could rescue me from this merciless life? Would he be enough to pull me through this indiscriminate strife?

What if I saw him in others when they gave of themselves; knew his love, and peace, even when all else failed? What if hope prevailed?

Would I take delight in the Lord?

Yes, yes, even then, with nothing at all, my joy and hope would rest in him.

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day five)

So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”

What we learn about the satan is becomes clearer in the second heavenly council. Satan really doesn’t want Job tested, he wants Job killed. And, he wants God to do it. Peter reminds us of satan’s ultimate goal. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  Not just attacking. Not just harming. But devouring- killing.

God continues to exercise His sovereignty. He limits what satan can do to Job. He gives him permission and instruction in regards to Job. In this scenario of unbearable suffering and sickness, God is still in control. God gives permission- sets the boundaries. Satan can only operate within those. We now watch to see how Job reacts.

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day four)

So…do we really believe that God did not know where Satan had been?  He asked, “Where have you come from?”  He likewise had asked Adam in the garden, “Where are you?”  God is All-Knowing, Omnipresent, and Sovereign over all…He was initiating a conversation to point out truth (or lack of it) in the world.

Satan was, and is, the very essence of evil.  He truly believed that if God removed His blessing from Job, he would turn against God.  Satan could not fathom a heart wholly devoted in worship to God.  He thought that every action was controlled by our circumstances.  Change the circumstances and the heart response would be different.  This worldview could be very true if it were not for the presence and reality of God and His love.

What about your heart?  Are you dependent on your circumstances in how you respond to the Lord?  When trials come your way, will you lament your losses and turn against God or will you worship and exalt God?  Let Job be our example…”Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day three)

“Why is light given to him who suffers,
And life to the bitter of soul,
 Who long for death, but there is none?”

Whoever put the account of Job together took actual events and expressed them in poetic form because of poetry’s power and economy of language. Poetry sometimes has a (false) reputation of being somewhat out of touch with reality. But the question in this passage is most assuredly a real one, and it most certainly arises from a heart that has seen hope disappear. This book is so honest that Job isn’t asking this question rhetorically. No, he’s really wondering: what’s the point to the shining of the sun and the beating of the heart when he’d rather be dead? This book is for everyone – everyone – who asks if there is a reason to go on.

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10; 3:11, 20-26 (day two) Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” 2:9

This is a hard passage. When things cannot get worse for Job, even his spouse calls for him to throw in the towel. There is always an exit strategy to the circumstances you are in, always. More often than not there are more than one options given to you. The most difficult chapters of your life may center around which option to take. There is a way that seems easy, but is it right. Being in a tough place is not always a sign lack of faith. Be careful not to equate situation with sin. Seek after the Lord, not just an escape. Ultimately you must decide which path you will take. Job chose a hard path, but is was right.

Re:Verse passage – Job 1:13-22 (day seven)

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. vs 21b

The year is 1873. Horatio Spafford decides it is time for his family to take a vacation. After all, it has been a rough two year span. In 1871 they lost a son to scarlet fever, and shortly after that, the Chicago fire wiped out much of the family business. Upon departure for the vacation, Horatio gets called back to the office, but he insists that his family continue to set sail for Europe. He would catch the next boat and meet them there…

Imagine the feeling when he receives the telegram stating there was an accident. Then another saying only his wife survived, his four remaining children did not. Imagine the feeling days later as he sailed over the exact spot his children died. Satan probably thought, “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Vs 11

Instead, Mr. Spafford wrote the lyrics:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Mr. Spafford learned well from Job. When we hit rock bottom, Satan expects us to curse God. Job blessed the Lord. Mr. Spafford said “It is Well.” What will your response be when you hit rock bottom?

Re:Verse passage – Job 1:13-22 (day six)

As I write this blog post and read this passage, I can’t help but think of the 2.5 million refugees in Ukraine and the Afghan refugees here in our city. Since August there have been over 1,763 Afghan evacuees who have arrived in San Antonio since August with another 1,000 – 2,000 estimated to have moved here on their own. They’ve all experienced great loss and I wonder who of them believes in the God of the Bible. I wonder if they “have sinned and charged God with wrong?” I think most of these people would blame God or blame someone else.

Job’s life is an example of how we can lose everything in an instant. We also learn that God is in control of everything good and bad. Of course, the chaos today can be attributed to poor human choices and selfishness, but it still bothers most of us because we know that God could stop it. What I can’t stand is how the righteous Followers of Christ suffer at the hands of evil. It makes me want Jesus to come back quickly and stop the injustice. We all should be discontent with this world in the state that it is in. If we are in Christ then 2 Corinthians 5:4 should be our disposition, “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” Are you “longing for a better country, a heavenly one (Heb 11:16)” or are you too comfortable here?

Let’s all pray with the Apostle John, “Come quickly Lord Jesus! (Rev 22:20)” Pray for the Faithful to ensure under persecution. Pray for everyone who had lost so much to know the Lord and be comforted by His merciful hand.

Re:Verse passage – Job 1:13-22 (day five)

“Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.”  Job has just experienced unthinkable loss and tragedy. Everything to include his children- gone. Yet, the writer of Job tells us that he didn’t sin nor blame God in his reaction. Job’s reaction was both real and raw (tore robe, shaved head)- what we would do. Yet, no sin and no blaming- hopefully what we would do. How does that happen?  I believe verse 5 gives us insight. “Thus Job did continually.”

Regular and frequent times of confession and repentance have shaped his heart, and influenced even his real and raw reactions. Don’t underestimate the influence of spiritual disciplines on the human heart.

Re:Verse passage – Job 1:13-22 (day four)

The world is broken by sin.  There is chaos in every earthly arena.  Try as we may, man cannot ‘fix’ the brokenness of our world.  Apart from the grace of God, all of our lives would look like the tragic day in Job’s world.  God had placed a hedge of protection about all of Job’s life.  Even when Job was not aware of it, God had protected Job, his home, and his family.  He had blessed the work of Job’s hands and prospered Job’s entire existence.

Like Job, we may never know the heavenly influences in our lives.  What we do know though is that God is the supreme authority and His Word makes all things possible.  Gratitude should fill our hearts that God, in His infinite mercy, has established our very existence and life on this earth.  Our purpose in life is to worship God and to bring glory to His name.  Evil will abound, atrocities will occur…but God’s grace is sufficient for our every need!  “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5b)