Job 29:1-6 – “And Job again took up his discourse and said, ² “Oh that I were as in months gone by, as in the days when God watched over me; ³ When His lamp shone over my head, and by His light I walked through darkness; ⁴ as I was in the prime of my days, when the friendship of God was over my tent; ⁵ When the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were around me; ⁶ When my steps were bathed in butter,
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was deeply challenged in my spirit.  Reading the story of Job, something in Job 29:4 caught my attention.   Job spoke of a time before his dilemma and trial.  He longed for the time, “When the friendship of God was over my tent.”  Friendship with God had been his covering! WOW!

In Job 31, he positions his mind in accordance with covenant.  He uses the “if” “then” to illustrate his commitment.  Thirteen times he said, if” I have done this, “then” let this curse or judgment come upon me.  That is either incredible deception or confidence in his condition and position.

Then the apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians, describes our relationship with Jesus and with each other.  Paul’s plea is for total surrender and recognition of the Body of Christ so that we can become who God has purposed us to be.

In 1 Corinthians 5, he addresses excessive tolerance and shows how immorality should affect believers.  It should grieve us just as loss in death does because it is a kind of death.   In 1 Corinthians 6, he unfolds the painful reality that immorality and unrighteousness can never enter the kingdom. He gives a partial list in verses 9-10.   In verse 20, he brings it home – Jesus died to free us, how dare we trample His blood under our feet by living in sin.

Job longed for God’s friendship and companionship.  Paul longed for purity of heart. God longs for our fellowship, which can only be experienced in total surrender and out of pure hearts.

God, I pray, You will cause us to mourn sin and repent!

Job 13:15 – “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him…”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God, I was reminded of some valuable truths.   The plight of Job was beyond what most could handle.   Few would not have succumbed to the temptation to dive deep into self-pity and wallow in the mire of victimization.  

Although Job walked near that border, the core of his God-view and life-view was that God is faithful, loving, and just.  That is revealed in Job 13:15 and anchored in Job 13:18.  In Job 14:1, we are reminded that our earthly existence is extremely temporary, and the obstacles are many.  In Job 14:5, we are reminded that God has predetermined our longevity or lack thereof.

Therefore, our approach to life should be to live each day fully.  Looking to eternity while enjoying the present.   Then, at the end of life (ours or others), we can rejoice in a life well lived.

The words of Job in 19:23-27 are powerful anchors.  Job longed for others to receive the revelation he had of God (vv 23-24).  That revelation is detailed in (vv 25-27).   God is the Living God. We will rise again and be with Him eternally.  In Job 21, the age-old questions surface (v 7).  Why do the wicked seem to go unscathed in life?  Then, in (v 15).  Why serve God? Who is God? 

Life is hard at times and full of unexplained and unexpected difficulties.  We can either focus on the problem of the problem solver.  That decision will determine our destiny, define our existence, and control our attitude, aptitude, and altitude.  The bottom line is Trust and Surrender.  It is not about us!  Our focus is reflected in our thoughts, words, and actions!  Actions always speak louder and more honestly than words.  I know my Redeemer Liveth, and I shall see Him in the Last Days!

Therefore, I choose to live content that He is trustworthy!  I refuse to live with the view that my loss was unfair, but rejoice over the time I had to enjoy before the loss.  My focus is Jesus and eternity, not self and now! I choose to be Free!

LORD, help us to live a life of complete trust and live to the full every day!

Job 1:21-22 – “ He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there.  The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  ²² Through all this, Job did not sin nor did he blame God.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God, a question gripped my heart. “What Is Your Life View?”   In Job 1:1, God’s view of Job is humbling and challenging.  Can God say that of us?   If not, what does that say?

Here, four character qualities are listed that we should aspire to.   Job was blameless.   He was upright.   He feared (reverential awe) God.   He was continuously turning from evil.  Those qualities marked his life. He was a richly blessed man in all things.  Out of Job’s character came his relationship with and view of God and life.

In Job 1:21-22, he expresses that character and life view.  It wasn’t fatalism, but confidence in God’s character!  In Job 2:10-11, during the second phase of his trial, he reinforced that life view. Job’s character was rooted in His confidence in God.

He could not understand nor explain his plight, but his view of God was that God was undeniably righteous and just.   What is our reaction to loss or trouble?  Too often it is, “Why me?”   It is resentment, anger, bitterness, self-pity, and complaining.

Those things contradict our declaration that we trust God.  We cannot rest in Him in an attitude of being wronged or complaining.  Remember Paul’s directive?  Rejoice always!  If we are focused on the problem and the present, we cannot focus on the answer giver and the future.  The night of the present prevents us from seeing the light of the future.

Lord, help my life view be one that trusts You totally. Help me to learn contentment in everything because You are perfect and perfectly shaping me.  Help me to see the destination, not just the journey.  I surrender all to You! You are for me, and I choose to trust You!

LORD, help us to develop a view of You, our Life, and the biblical World.

Romans 7:21-25 – “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. ²² For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, ²³ but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand, I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”

Today, as I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God, the immeasurable and incomprehensible love of God flooded my consciousness.  The width, breadth, depth, height, and eternality of that love blows my mind.  That love is foreign to human reason. It is impossible for flesh!

Romans 3:3 reminds us that every living human has erred (sinned).   Romans 7:22-23 brings a deeper revelation. We are not just sinners. We are sin!  Romans 7:15-21 brings us face to face with the inescapable reality that we cannot will to be good, holy, and righteous.  Even if we have the restraint and willpower to “not commit certain acts,” the heart is still the issue.

Grace deals with the “want to,” not just the “doing.”  The tenth commandment, “Covetousness,” reveals the true nature of the heart.  It deals with the “want to.”   We don’t hate or harm, but do we want to?  We don’t do many things, but do we want to?  Would we if there was no fear of punishment?  The root must be dealt with, or the heart will produce weeds.

The incredibleness of love brings us grace when we deserve justice and judgment.   Love allows us to live! Romans 5:19 reminds us that Grace is always Greater!  The fact that in our unconverted condition, we “are sin, not just those who sin,” is the catalyst to realizing the Greatness of Grace and the immeasurability of love!

We are transformed by love!   We are the New creations of God!  God has dealt with and is dealing with the “want to” in our lives.  He transforms our “will do” into His “want to!”   Our hearts change, and we who were sin become righteousness IN JESUS!   You are loved by incomprehensible love!

Father, make my want to Your want to!

Romans 2:1 – “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God, I was challenged by the value of the body.   The human body and, more importantly, the Body of Christ.

I was challenged by the valuation we place on both.   Actions speak louder than words.  In a measure, we are all guilty of not properly or rightly discerning the Lord’s body and valuing it.

In Paul’s recounting of his Damascus road experience, the words of Jesus grip my heart.   Paul asked who it was that was speaking to him.  He saw nothing, but he heard the voice.  Jesus identified Himself and added, “I’m the one you are persecuting.”    Wait!   Paul probably never met Jesus in the flesh.   Jesus had already been crucified.    So, how was Paul persecuting Jesus?   How?

If you touch others, you touch Jesus.   If you judge others, you judge Jesus. If you talk about or gossip about others, you do it to Jesus.   He is “in” them, and they are “in” Him.   We would never speak evil of Jesus, but have no hesitation in doing so about others.

Romans 2:1 should send chill bumps down our spines.  We proclaim love for Jesus but express hate, distrust, animosity, and disrespect toward people He died for.   That very fact places us in the same boat we are accusing them of being in.   They do something we disagree with and believe violates scripture, and our actions make us guilty as well.  Remember, God is no respecter of persons (no partiality).

Lord, help us to value your body, even when we disagree!  Help us to embrace you in others who don’t look, think, speak, or act like us.  Help us resist the temptation to be God and pray earnestly for others with Your heart and love. Help us to give grace as we have been given grace.

Father, help us to embrace your valuation of each of us!