The Everyday Prayer

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)

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

“Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.”

The emotional equivalent of a tsunami occurred in Job’s life; horrific personal disasters crashing in wave upon wave against one lone man. He remained unbowed. Job faced staggering tragedy with a stalwart confidence that God – his puzzling authorization of these events notwithstanding – was going to take notice of Job’s righteousness soon, and some kind of redress of grievances would happen. As hopeful as this stance seems, Job finds out that such a posture isn’t strong enough for life in this world. He finds something strong enough eventually, but the rest of the book is far from a straight line from disaster to renewal. That’s because this book isn’t a platitude. It’s not a pep talk. It’s life as it actually is. That’s where you’ll find God. Job did.

Re:Verse passage – Job 1:13-22 (day two) The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. vs. 21b

May none of us ever have to experience the devastating losses that Job had to endure with not a minute to catch his breath. It simply overwhelming to consider all that was taken from him on that day. Have you ever had the privilege to walk beside a believer journeying through grief? It is a responsibility that we will all experience at one time or another. What is remarkable is how their faith is made evident despite the tragedy. Often they comfort those who have come to give comfort. Where does this security come from? Only the Lord, to be sure. We will never be able to disaster-proof our faith, but we can get it to the point that we are not shaken when disasters come. That starts today. Begin building those muscles of hope through prayer, study, and listening.

Re:Verse passage – Job 1:1-12 (day seven)

Satan lost from the very beginning of this story (and the beginning of time too). It is evident that a sovereign God knows how this is all going to play out. Why else would He put Job up to this challenge? He knows how it will play out. He knows how Job will react. He knows Satan will lose. Satan thinks that the only reason Job follows God is because of His personal success:

“Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” vs 10

What Satan does not seem to realize (and what we will see over the next 13 weeks) is that the storms of this life often seem to bring us closer to God. When things are going well it becomes easy to take personal credit for the success. You are comfortable in thinking you have control and do not need God, but in the storms, you become dependent on God because you realize you were never in control in the first place. God is in control. Satan lost!