Job 14:1-2  – “Man, born of woman, lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble.  ² He grows up like a flower and then withers away; he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.”

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 trust You so completely that we are content to live one day at a time, confident that You are with us daily!

Job 1:20-22 – Then Job got up and tore his robe. He shaved his head, and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground. 21 He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed!” 22 In all this, Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with moral impropriety.

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God, a question gripped my heart. “What Is Your World 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?  He listed 4-character qualities we should aspire to. Job was blameless.   He was upright.   He feared (reverential awe) God.  He was continuously turning from evil.  His life was marked by those qualities.  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 was not fatalism, but confidence in God’s character!   In Job 2:10-11, during the 2nd 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!

Have a fantastic day following the guidance of the Holy Spirit!

Romans 5:18-21 – “Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression, so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were constituted sinners, so also through the obedience of one man many will be constituted righteous. ²⁰ Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, ²¹ so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

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 simply 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 New Creations!   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!   May the grace, peace, and power of God guide you daily!

Acts 17:28 – “For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”

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, but 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, 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.

LORD, help us to realize that we are “in” Christ and members of the same body and family!

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 the revelation of God!

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 teaching was validated by his life.  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, inspire us to be listeners who trust and obey, and we will have the Success that they had!