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!

Ezra 6:14 – “And the elders of the Jews were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God, I heard two words echoing in my consciousness (Listen and Trust).  In the Book of Ezra 6:14, this is manifested. It says that they were Successful through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah.

They listened and heard the Word from the LORD for that moment.  How we need a Word from God for this moment and any moment.  Not only did they listen to the prophecy, but they also trusted.  They trusted that the words were God’s words. They trusted God to fulfill His words.

Faith came to them through hearing the present speaking of God.  The prophecies were a Rhema to them, and they trusted the word with their lives. They acted upon what they heard. Actionless faith is doubt and dead.

In Nehemiah 3, that is magnified.  About 30 times, the words “next to him or them” and “after him” or them are used.   They listened to the words, trusted, and set their hearts and minds to do what they heard.

Today, we need a Word from God!  Today, we need to listen to the voice of God inside and trust Him completely.   We can succeed through God’s revelation!

Ezra 7:10 is a key. “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and it Practice it, and to Teach His statutes and ordinances to Israel.”   Notice the order: Study first, Practice second, and then Teach. His life validated his teaching. He taught what he was living, not theory.  If we are determined to obey God’s Word, we will discover God’s pathway to success!

LORD, help us to learn to listen and to Trust You!

Jeremiah 37:17 – “Now King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king secretly asked him and said, “Is there a word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon!”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was consumed with the question, “Is there any Word from the LORD?”  The Bible and history are filled with examples of the power and importance of hearing a Word from God!

In 2 Chronicles 19:2-4, a Word from God changed Jehoshaphat’s trajectory and life! It altered the course of the nation. We need a Sure Word today!  2 Chronicles 20:1 reveals that reality.  It begins, “After this…”   After what? The Word Jehoshaphat received.

Jehoshaphat faced the problem by going into the Temple to pray.  He got the bad report, and rather than allowing it to consume him, he sought God.  His reaction to a bad report was to seek God’s report.   His response was prayer! He made his Request to God.   His prayer was not to cause God to remember or instruct or enlighten God, but to remind himself of God’s covenant promises.

In 2 Chronicles 20:20 (perfect vision), he responded to the Rhema he had received.   A Rhema is not a formula to get God to move; it is a call to action on our part.   He Heard God.    He believed what He heard.  He rejoiced in what he heard and believed. Then, He Received the promise and provision.

His response to the Rhema should be ours. He received with Reverence, then worshipped, with rejoicing, and waited!  That’s the hard part. When the Rhema does not happen immediately or in our time frame, we reject it. That shipwrecks the purpose and prevents the provision, stripping us of the power.

Is there a Word from God?  YES! Will we hear it?  That depends on us.  Will we listen? Will we obey? Will we live as if it is a present reality?   Does God have a Now Word for Us?   We need to receive it, believe it, rejoice in it, and wait for it!  God has a plan and purpose for you!

LORD, give us your Word and the courage to act upon it!