The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Job 42:5-17 (day four)

Job is doing business with God.  He is confessing his sin of declaring what he did not know or understand.  He declares that he now clearly sees God for who He is.  Job repents of his sin.

In God’s conversation with Job, He also has some choice words for the three friends.  Job’s friends have been giving false words to Job.  They were telling Job that all suffering is the direct result of sin…false theology!  Some of what they said about God was true, but their representation of God and His ways was not totally accurate.

If the friends’ theology had been accurate, we would have to blame the suffering of today’s persecuted churches on their own sin.  Evil is in the world and there is often not a rational explanation of why suffering happens.  God is sovereign and we cannot always see how His infinite plan is at work.  We do need to be reminded that God is God though!

Re:Verse passage – Job 42:5-17 (day three)

The speech God gives over the last few chapters in Job is amazing. It stops us in our tracks. And honestly, if the book were to end there, that would be enough, wouldn’t it? Job is given all he needs by just being in God’s presence. But, the book doesn’t end there. Chapter 42 shows us that God wants to restore every bit of our lives.

God restored all things to Job. Yes, God restored Job’s wealth and possessions, but more importantly, He restores Job’s heart and relationships. He admonishes Job’s friends for how they have dealt with him, and then tells Job to pray for them. I can imagine that it was difficult for Job to obey here – it’s hard to pray for someone who has treated your poorly. But, this act of prayer was just as much for Job’s heart as it was for his friends. This act of prayer restored these men’s relationship with God, but it also restored Job’s relationship with them. What a tender way for God to heal them.

Our troubles won’t always end with us becoming rich, or having our material possessions double. But we can be sure that they will end with restoration, because that is the business of God. Be it on this side of heaven or the next, He restores all things.

Re:Verse passage – Job 42:5-17 (day two)

The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold. vs. 10 

Notice when restoration happened for Job? It was after he prayed for his friends. Scripture does not indicate this as a condition for restoration, but there is likely a connection. The Lord was direct in his dealing with those men, and as Job stood on the side of righteousness he did so as a helpful conduit. He did not use that righteousness as an opportunity to gloat, he simply helped. For chapters and chapters they offered “advice”, and yet when it came to down to it Job’s act of intercessory prayer made all the difference. Tempted to help a friend in need? How much time have you spent in prayer for them?

Re:Verse passage – Job 40:6-9, 15-19; 41:1-7, 10-11; 42:1-6 (day seven)

Who are these magnificent creatures? It is fun to speculate. Hippopotamus? Giant crocodile? Dinosaurs? Mythological creatures? My mind races with the possibilities of what this could mean on scientific/biological level, but that is not the point of what God nor the author of this book are trying to get across. The beauty of the poetical extravagance which is used to describe these creatures is meant to bring our minds to the realization that:

1. 1. God is a great creator. He cares for us.
   2. God is in control. We are not.

If we are unable to control, let alone understand, the most complex creatures on this planet, who are we to think that we can control the God who created and ordered the entire universe?!  By looking into creation (Jesus speaks on this too), we can see that God has a master plan in order. It is our job to trust Him.

Re:Verse passage – Job 40:6-9, 15-19; 41:1-7, 10-11; 42:1-6 (day six).

I wouldn’t mess with a leviathan. Would you? It would probably take my arm clean off if I tried. And not because it is evil, or part of a “broken” world, but simply because it is a wild and magnificent and dangerous animal.

Here’s the kicker, God is super proud of this beast. Nothing on earth is its equal, no other creature so fearless. (41:33) He created it just like he created you and me.

We are always searching for reasons, but God seems to be saying, in part, there isn’t always a personal reason for suffering. Sometimes we run into something and it takes our arm clean off. He seems to be saying, in part, that his good, magnificent, created world wasn’t designed to cushion us when we fall; parts of it has sharp edges that requires wisdom and caution in its navigation. (It’s why we wear seatbelts, wash our hands, or avoid sticking our heads in lion’s mouths.)

While that isn’t all that comforting, it does reinforce one simple principle:

Live wisely. And be in awe of God’s good and magnificent and sometimes dangerous world.

BUT more importantly, be in awe of him.

Re:Verse passage – Job 40:6-9, 15-19; 41:1-7, 10-11; 42:1-6 (day five). “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.”

 Job is learning about the unlimited power and possibilities of God. Something he previously knew and understood. Yet, God has confronted him with these truths. Job’s response shows the growth and tenderness of his heart and faith. Job responds in awe with worship, confession, and repentance. They all go together in a beautiful and humble response. When we learn and sense God’s greatness our reaction will indicate the condition of our hearts. Is there worship, confession, and repentance?  Is there awe?

What does our reaction indicate about our hearts?  What does our reaction indicate about our view and understanding of God?

Re:Verse passage – Job 40:6-9, 15-19; 41:1-7, 10-11; 42:1-6 (day four)

In 2000, Richard A. Swenson, MD wrote a book, More Than Meets the Eye.  EditHe began by asking the question, “how would our lives be changed if we had 10 minutes in heaven with God?”  He concluded that we would be profoundly and eternally changed.  We cannot even fathom or understand all the ways of God.  Swenson proceeded to identify facts of science that demonstrate the amazing power of our Almighty God.  We can only describe the facts shared as mind-boggling!  Can you imagine how Job felt during his conversation with God?

Every question asked of Job was beyond his comprehension.  At every element of interrogation, Job was profoundly impacted and yes, humbled.  How could he have ever questioned God and His choices and decisions?  Job clearly recognized God’s vast glory and his own abject poverty.  How about us?  Do we, like Adam and Eve in the garden, sometimes act as if we know better than God?  Do we think that if God knew all the circumstances like we do, that He would change His mind or do things differently?  Charles Spurgeon said, “There is no attribute more comforting to His children than God’s sovereignty.”

Re:Verse passage – Job 40:6-9, 15-19; 41:1-7, 10-11; 42:1-6 (day three)

God showed up in a physical way to meet with Job – He came to him in a thunderstorm. We call this kind of meeting a “theophany,” where God shows up in a tangible way to speak to someone. Can you imagine how terrifying that must have been? Job gives the only appropriate response – he humbly repents. After God shows Job His majesty and power, Job essentially says, “I’m sorry. I went on talking about things that I don’t really know about. It won’t happen again.” The appropriate response to meeting with the One Holy God is humility.

We know that God can still speak through a thunderstorm, but we also know that He constantly speaks to us through His Spirit which dwells in us – if we’d only listen. Often, when the Spirit speaks to us and convicts, our response should mimic Job’s – “I’m sorry, Lord. My pride got the best of me, I didn’t know what I was talking about.” Things will go better for us if we’re more willing to say that to God and to each other. The best part is, we know that God answers that repentance with boundless grace and love. Let’s walk humbly with God.

Re:Verse passage – Job 40:6-9, 15-19; 41:1-7, 10-11; 42:1-6 (day two)                 I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. 42:2

This response says a great deal about Job’s character after the withering litany of questions that the Lord asked him. Job continues the narrative of the bigness of God with the recognition of his sovereign nature. As we walk through trials we may be surprised at the journey, but God never is. We may be frustrated at outcomes that are contrary to our hopes, but God never is. We may be tempted to question God’s purpose, and even wonder about his nearness, but the Lord is never far and will not be moved from his cosmic design for us. Job is humbled, to be sure, but he comes out of this more confident than ever that God is real, big, and to be trusted. Can you say the same?