-
Job, Brokenness is the only Way to Godliness
Now in this, you are not right– I answer you, for God is greater than a human being. Why do you contend against him, that he does not answer all a person's words? "For God speaks, the first time in one way, the second time in another, though a person does not perceive it. In a dream, a night vision, when deep sleep falls on people as they sleep in their beds. Then he gives a revelation to people, and terrifies them with warnings, to turn a person from his sin, and to cover a person's pride. He spares a person's life from corruption, his very life from crossing over the…
-
Job, Do not Despise the Wisdom of the Youth!
With Job's three friends he was also angry, because they could not find an answer, and so declared Job guilty. Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job, because the others were older than he was. But when Elihu saw that the three men had no further reply, he became very angry. So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up: "I am young, but you are elderly; that is why I was fearful, and afraid to explain to you what I know. I said to myself, 'Age should speak, and length of years should make wisdom known.' But it is a spirit in people, the breath of the Almighty, that makes them understand. (Job 32:3-8 NET)
-
Wait For Hope to Appear
Many times, we will find ourselves surrounded by suffering. It seldom makes any sense and it sometimes hurts so deep that words fail to adequately describe our pain. I wrote the following blog in a time such as this and with these few words, I found hope. “When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions. Wait for hope to appear. Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. The ‘worst’ is never the worst.” Lamentations 3:28-30 (MSG) (italics and bold mine) I struggle with the idea of waiting especially when “life is heavy and hard to…
-
Job, With Friends Like These Who Needs Enemies?
When Job's three friends heard about all this calamity that had happened to him, each of them came from his own country– Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to come to show sympathy for him and to console him. But when they gazed intently from a distance but did not recognize him, they began to weep loudly. Each of them tore his robes, and they threw dust into the air over their heads. Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was…
-
Everything Centers On This One Thing
My earliest memories of Easter include new church dresses with hats and lots of yellow ribbons, intense searches for plastic eggs with the rare $2 bill stuffed inside, marshmallow peeps (which I never liked) and loads of Cadbury chocolate, complete with the resulting stomach-ache. The day came and went with a little bit of anticipation, but nominal impact on my day-to-day life. As I grew up, the cognitive recognition that Easter celebrated something important, something critical, something that all of reality hinges upon, was not lost on me. However, the disconnect between head and heart can sometimes keep the significance of an event at a distance. I would reflect on…
-
March Madness
March madness has ended. The NCAA tournament is over for another year. Today many will feel a little bit of sadness that the momentum of the unpredictable, drama infused and entertaining madness has concluded. Do any folks who sacrifice for the tournament ever say, “Yeah, that was so worth it?” Like this past tournament, I had my own nerve-racking experience. My March madness began with an annual trip to the breast center for a mammogram. That’s what I do to celebrate my birthday each year. It’s weird, I know, but I never forget to schedule it. So I went, complained a whole bunch, and thought nothing of it. A few…
-
Job, God is Your Solution!
Then Satan answered the LORD, "Is it for nothing that Job fears God? Have you not made a hedge around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land. But extend your hand and strike everything he has, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!" (Job 1:9-11) We can see two things in this passage: God controls a hedge of protection (1) around His people that Satan cannot penetrate (Psalms 125:1,2. Psalms 91. 1 John 5:18). God blesses the work of His people’s hands and increases their possessions (Deuteronomy…
-
Job, God is not Your Problem… Satan is!
Now we will jump to the beginning of the story of Job’s struggle. Specifically, what caused this suffering to come upon Job?
-
Job, God Planned a Happy Ending from the Beginning!
We begin this article starting after the test has been administered and now begins the debrief facilitated by God. We find Job acknowledging his weaknesses and at last, he is motivated to change. Disclaimer: If I were in Job’s shoes I probably would have done far worse. This series is not to slander and libel Job but rather to learn from his mistakes.
-
Job, Suffering is Part of the Job
This study aims to understand the role of suffering in a Christian’s life. We will study the classic case of suffering in the Book of Job. Realize, God describes the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10); therefore, we will start at the end of the story and work our way to the beginning.