In What Are We Trusting?

O. T. #1136  "In What Are We Trusting?"
Jan. 18, 2018
Job 13
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

LET IT GLOW

In what are we trusting? Is it government funds? Is it our job? Is it our spouse or children? Or is it God?

In the last chapter, we read of the mighty acts of God, His wisdom and power that Job noted.  He concluded that Almighty God is in charge of all things. He has control of all things. Job goes on to say that God's power is visible in nature, human society, religious matters, and national and international affairs.
Does that all include what we are going through in our life right now?

In our last session, we read what Beth Moore had to say about suffering:

• It is a direct correlation to positions God calls us to fill.
• Some of it is spiritual warfare.
• It could be due to sociological resistance because the world hates us as it hated Christ.
• Some suffering is ordained by God for our growth, our humility, our compassion, our obedience, our completion, our faith, our future commendation, joy, and fellowship in His glory.
• Hardships may come because we got it right.
• They may come because of God's immeasurable affection and devotion to us.

Will we trust Him with the suffering He's entrusted to us?
Are we resting in Jesus while enduring tests with enduring faith?

LET IT GROW

After Zophar speaks, Job replies.
Job's point is that he is living proof that God does not always reward goodness and punish evil, as his three visitors have been insisting. (Falwell)

Job tells his friends that he is not inferior to them.
He accuses them of:

• being liars who pretend to be physicians of the soul, who failed with the diagnosis.
• being self-appointed defenders of God;
• false lawyers who have misrepresented God and will have to give an answer.

Verse 15 shows us Job's spiritual condition as he said, Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him: but I will maintain mine own ways before Him.

Job convictions are not self-serving, are they? He was ready to die trusting God. What unconditional trust! Yet, he would defend his innocence before God if given a chance. Like a lawyer going into the courtroom, Job had his case prepared. Job was truly confident that he was saved and not a hypocrite, in verse 16.
Job gives his final solution for the book of Job. He doesn't back down, does he? We know it wasn't because Job did wrong or sinned that caused his sufferings. God allowed it to prove to Satan that Job would be faithful even if his blessings of wealth and family were taken away.

The word trust is yachal (yaw-chal'), which means to wait, be patient, hope; (cause to, have, make to) hope, be pained, stay, tarry, trust, wait.
   
Though suffering or even death may come, is my faith as strong as Job's and I will trust God in it and through it? How about being patient for an answer? What about hoping for the best while patiently waiting on it to come? Is our faith in God growing? What about our relationship with God?
Those are hard questions, folks.

Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.
Ps. 62:8

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Ps. 37:7

LET IT GO

Stop fretting over it and trust God in it.
Trust in the Lord with all my heart.
Forget my understanding.
Acknowledge that God is in control.
Trust Him to direct my paths.

Entrusted and Entrusting

O. T. #1135  "Entrusted and Entrusting"
Jan. 17, 2017
Job 12-Part 2
But I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.  2 Timothy 1:12

Thought we could use something different while in the middle of Job's suffering, condemnations by his friends, and his rebuttals. Here is an encouraging, different perspective that I came across reading  an excerpt from Beth Moore's book Entrusted: A Study of 2 Timothy. It is found in the chapter, Because I Know the One:

Will we trust God with the suffering He's entrusted to us? Will we believe He has purpose? Do we have vision enough to believe He's planning one of the biggest harvests of our lives through the seed of the Word we're sowing through this hard season? Desperation can fertilize our soil and tears can water our seed like no ease could ever hope to. Are we willing to believe that right on the other side of this life is a party of epic proportions where we'll ecstatically rejoice and share in His unfathomable inheritance?

Suffering is an inescapable part of inhaling oxygen in the atmosphere of this fallen planet. Paul's paradigm suggests that servants of Jesus suffer some things in direct correlation to the positions God called them to fill. A measure of your pain and hardship really is in connection to your calling. Some of it is spiritual warfare. Some of it is sociological resistance because the world hates us as it hated Christ. some of it is ordained by God for our growth our humility, our compassion, our obedience our completion, our faith, and, our future commendation, joy, and fellowship in His glory. If we have a throw-down fit and refute partake in the sufferings of Christ, we will miss partaking in the explosive joy of that measure of His glory. 

Folks, please read 1 Peter 4:12-16, Paul tells us:

• Don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal, trial comes to test us.
• Rejoice as we share in the sufferings of Christ.
• If we are ridiculed for the name of Christ, then we are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on us.
• If you suffer as a Christian, don't be ashamed, but glorify God in having that name.

Back to Beth:

When we run into great difficulty or pain in the journey of our calling, we're prone to either cast blame or jump to the conclusion that we must have done something wrong or landed somewhere wrong in our attempt to discern God's will. But sometimes hardship will come because you got it right. Sometimes suffering bubbles up from the well of God's immeasurable affection and devotion to us. This He promises us: the suffering will be brief and the fruit of it as long as eternity. (See 2 Cor. 4:17)

Entrusted and entrusting. Will we trust Him with the suffering He's entrusted to us? In 2 Timothy 1:13, Paul told Timothy, Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching. The lexical Greek translated sound means To be healthy, sound, physically well.  Concerning persons, to be sound in faith, means firm, pure in respect to Christian doctrine and life. God used His words to heal my tormented mind and to piece back together my broken heart. He still uses them every day of my life to bring health to my soul.

In 2 Timothy 1:12, the Greek verb for  am persuaded also translates I am fully convinced. Nothing will substitute for knowing the One you believe in. No one can know Him for you. and no one He knows supplants His knowing you. Faith endures the furious tests by knowing the One in whom it rests.

Thank you Beth. We need that reassurance you gave us, at least I do. Let us not allow the pain of our journey of our call break our faith.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

        

How?

O. T. #1134  "How?"
Jan, 16, 2018
Job 12
True wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are His. 
Job 12:13 NLT

LET IT GLOW

Now, take a look at the birds in the air, animals in the fields, the fish in the sea. Take a good look at each one, how unique they are. Where did they come from? Who made them?  We can't explain how birds can fly, how fish can inhale water and live, how animals know to hibernate in the winter. Why do the planets not collide out in space and the sun doesn't burn us up?  Oh, scientists think they have it all figured out. Believers know the answers, as well as Job-God did it and continues to maintain it all in His control. He gives them all instincts to do what they do, uniquely. He knows the how to the intricate details.

In verses 13-25, Job lists the mighty acts of God:

• He has wisdom and might;
• counsel and understanding.
• He tears down and it cannot be rebuilt.
• He imprisons a man without release.
• He restrains the water, as well as drying them up, sending them out.
• He has strength and sound wisdom.
• He has control over counselors, judges, kings, priests, elders, nobles.
• He reveals mysteries and gives light.
• He makes great nations and then destroys them, even enlarging them.

Swindoll explains, "It's all about our God! It is the inscrutable, Almighty God, who is in charge of all things. don't you think I know that? The God I serve takes delight in undoing human activities and in dismantling human enterprises, and in the process, executing His miraculous undertaking. He alone is in full control. "

Have Job's friends actually met God? Even though Job cannot explain the reason for his suffering, He knows God is still in control. Job's faith and wisdom is not that of an airheaded idiot, is it?
I don't need to have all the answers to all the questions about things. I believe that the Creator does. He knows the how and why of it all since He put it all together and makes it work or do its thing.

LET IT GROW

Job's point is that he is living proof that God does not always reward goodness and punish evil, as his three visitors have been insisting. They have praised God as the Creator. Job can do that too. He has never doubted God's power; he can list the thing God can do, as he did here. Also, Job lists God's destructive power.  (Falwell)

I think Job insinuates what he told his wife earlier after she advised he curse God and die in 2:10,
Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?

Job did not completely understand the reason for his suffering, but neither did his friends. Job was convinced that their reasons were narrow-minded and incorrect. God's wisdom is superior to any the world has to offer.

Are we trusting in God's wisdom in our life, problem, situation? Will we continue on living with faith in Him, focusing on carrying out His will? Others can discourage us, but God loves us.

LET IT GO

God holds my life and breath in His hand, and everything that comes my way.
Focus on Him and not the painful things.
Trust the One who is all wise and all powerful.

Condemners and Bullies

O. T. #1133  "Condemners and Bullies"
Jan. 15, 2018
Job 11-Part 2

LET IT GLOW

Condemners and bullies are in a category of their own. Accusing me of acting like a child isn't going to get me to do what you want. When I am in the right, I'm not yielding. When I am convicted of being wrong, then I yield and confess it. Otherwise, stop bulling me. It took me a while to get to that place. Those hurtful words kept stabbing me in the heart. Finally, I forgave the person and refused to allow Satan to torment me with those words. Job's third friend was a bully and condemned him.

Falwell gives us insight into Zophar, in Liberty Bible Commentary:

Zophar is a man of worldly wisdom and common sense. In some respects, he is the most offensive of the three friends of Job. He accuses Job of lying and hypocrisy. He can hardly wait for God to defend Himself and finally give the whining, self-righteous old  man what he really deserves.(verses 1-6)

He accuses Job of arguing with God as though he knew the deep things of God, then defends God's sovereignty and greatness, or infinity, in this case. (verses 7-12)

Zophar expresses his deep conviction that Job is a sinner. He advises Job to repent, and turn from  wickedness. If he does, God will surely forgive him, restore him, and banish all fear and suffering. (verses 13-20)

Falwell continues to explain:

• Job has been insisting that God has been too harsh with him.
• The height, depth, length, and breath of God are beyond human comprehension.
• God has absolute power, and in the affairs of men He acts as judge and jury.
• God's exercise of supreme authority is justified, because He knows men through and through and can recognize a worthless man on sight.

Zophar was determined to expose Job's secret sins, yet none could be found.
Do we realize that God knows everything about us, even our thoughts?
Are there things we need to change, now that we understand that?

LET IT GROW

Zophar should have gotten his facts straight before he took on a man as faithful as Job. (Swindoll)
Will Job put a stop to those legalists? We will soon see.

Do you recall the time when a woman was caught in adultery and her accusers brought her to Jesus? They were calling for her to be stoned to death according to the Mosaic Law. (John 8) Jesus bent down and wrote in the dirt. Then He said, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
They were guilty of some sort of sin, whether the same one or not. The accusers left, thus no one was left to condemn her.  Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.
The women's accusers were Scribe and Pharisees, learned of the Word.

Where does that leave us? Sin is not always the reason suffering comes to folks. Sometimes it is a testing of our faith.

Do we assume we know why others are having hard times?
Do we compare others, implicating them by the sins of others?
Do we jump to false conclusions?
Are we condemners?
Are we guarding against judgmental generalizations?


LET IT GO

Stop judging others and love them to Jesus.
Leave the judging to God, for He is just.
Pray for mercy for our condemners.

Watching our Words

O. T. #1132  "Watching our Words"
Jan. 12, 2018
Job 11

LET IT GLOW

If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all. How many times have we said that to our children? Changing that, Job's three friends should have been told if they couldn't bring sympathy and comfort, then don't bring anything. Let your presence do the talking. (Swindoll)
Are we watching our words?

The first two friends to speak to Job were Eliphaz, a poet and spiritual man who saw visions and dreamed dreams, based his advice upon his experience. The second friend, Bildad, was a man who rest on authority, and appealed to tradition. Now the third friend, Zophar, is a man o worldly wisdom and common sense. In some respects, he is the most offensive of the three. (Falwell)

Job has insisted that God had been too hard on him. Zophar considers God's dealings with Job to have been too easy on him. Zophar was a classic legalist, condemning Job that:

• He was guilty. (verses 1-4)
• He was ignorant. (verse 5-12)
• He was sinful. (verses 13-20)

Those put-downs are a bit much, don't you think? Job wasn't a bag of hot air, self-serving. Zophar goes as far as to insinuate that Job is an idiot in verse 12, An idiot will become intelligent when the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.

Idiot is from a Hebrew word meaning to be hollow, empty.
When it is used to refer to an idiot person, in modern terms, it is one who is empty-headed, an airhead. Zophar suggested that Job, being an idiot, could never be wise, any more than a donkey could give birth to a human. (Swindoll)  Ouch! Can Zophar's put downs get any lower?

Actually, Zophar had an answer for everything. He spoke angrily to Job, who was hurting. Such insensitivity!

Beware of legalists. They judge you because you are not doing what they believe you should be doing. Or else, you are doing what they think you should not be doing.

Are we careful to not become a legalist? Let us not compare our self to others, for we would come out on top. but when we compare our self to Jesus, we come out on the bottom every time, begging for mercy.


LET IT GROW

Zophar doesn't need to teach Job about God, for he is not ignorant. Job was identified as the greatest man of the East feared God, and turned away from evil. In chapter 6, verses 24 and 28, Job says, Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have erred. Now please look at me, and see if I lie to your face.

Job knew he wasn't guilty of sin that brought all those tragedies upon him. We know he was right, and it was Satan's doings. Also, we know it was God that allowed them to happen. But Job did not know all of that.

Are we who have been attending Sunday School so prideful in that we think we know all those Bible stories we here over and over again. What can they teach us hat we don't already know?

Zopar tells Job, in verses 13-15, how to be free from fault, firmly established, and unafraid, holding his head up high:

• Redirect your heart, lift up your hands to God in prayer.
• If there is iniquity in your heart, remove it.
• Don't allow injustice to dwell in your tent.

He tells Job to repent of his sins, turning away from wickedness. Then God would forgive him, restore him, and remove all fear and suffering.
Certainly, we should repent and remove sinful ways and things in our life. We need God's forgiveness.

LET IT GO

Repent, agreeing with God that I have sinned against Him.
Forgive others in the way I want God's forgiveness.
Clean house, spiritually.
Watch out for legalists.

Seaching for Rest While Weary

O. T. #1131  "Searching for Rest While Weary"
Jan. 11, 2018
Job 10
Then Jesus said, "Come unto me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."  Matthew 11:28-30 NLT


LET IT GLOW

Have you ever been weary? Well, who hasn't been weary? When it is a physical exhaustion, we get relief by resting and sleeping, but when it is a mental or emotional weariness, we do not easily rest from it. Scenes and words of pain keep going around and around in our mind. Pain gets deep and finds crevices to lodge in. After a while, when no one helps us find relief, we feel like we are in a barrel that drifted over Niagara Falls, bobby up and down, going no where, just existing. Job was searching for hope. Listen to him.

Having replied to Bildad, with a sign Job addresses God:

• Job is weary of life by now, disgusted with his life as it is.
• He is going to express his bitterness of soul and complain about it all.
• Job appeals to God for his innocence.
• Don't condemn me guilty, but let me know why You persecute me.

Weary has several meanings: having the patience exhausted, or the mind yielding to discouragement; to reduce or exhaust the physical strength of the body to tire to fatigue as; exhaust by fatigue; to subdue.

I would say that Job is exhausted in all ways by now. He is discouraged and subdued. Eliphaz left him cold, giving Job no answers for his situation. Bildad gave him neither comfort nor insight. He was left with no mediator. Job asks God questions and proclaims his own gloom, deep shadow and darkness.

Friends, please don't forsake this study now. I know it can be a downer for us, day after day reading of Job's awful situation and struggles. He will get some answers  and relief, so hang in there with us. If this lesson is not for us right now, the time may be ahead of us when we can apply what we learn from Job and to our own struggles.  If  not us, then  look around, we can find someone going through struggles and questions similar to Job. What encouragement can we provide for them, unlike Job's friends?

God binds up the brokenhearted. When your prayers haven't been answered yet; when you are down and out; when your heart is broken; keep walking by faith and praying. God hears, loves, sees all that is happening in your life.

LET IT GROW

Bildad frowns at Job and walks away. God remains silent. Job has no answers to his sufferings.

Swindoll gives us some lessons from this chapter:

• When misery breaks our spirit, philosophical words don't help us cope.
• When a mediator can't be found, futile searches won't give us hope.

People are in search of hope to go on, a way to make it through their maze of misery. You and I maybe that person to help them find the answers they are searching for. Are we available? Will we pray for and with them, cry with them, sit quietly and listen to them?

Dear ones, we have a Mediator who has the answers, who is available and will listen to everyone's story of pain. He is no philosopher, but He is our Redeemer! Jesus is His name. His mercy outweighs all misery. He is only a breath away. His love never fails, it never gives up, never runs out on me-Jesus' love.

LET IT GO

Let Jesus hold me in my misery, trial, troubles, desertion.
Come to Jesus to find rest for my weary soul.
Lay those heavy burdens down at His feet.

Who Will Mediate?

O. T. #1130  "Who Will Mediate?"
Jan. 10, 2018
Job 9-Part 2

LET IT GLOW

I recall a time when teachers in a big city refused to work at school without their demands being met. They picketed too. They had a list of changes for the administration to meet before the would step foot into the classrooms. The problem was that heir needs were not being considered. So it took an arbitrator to be the go-between t find a happy ground for both parties. I don't remember the specifics, but the teachers got some of their demands, for they returned to teaching. Job desired to have such a go-between person so he and God could get his why's cleared up.

Job said earlier in this chapter that he would love to stand in the divine courtroom and stand before God, the ultimate Judge of all. If only he could talk things rough with His Creator.
According to Swindoll, Job would have four questions:

1. If I could stand before God, what would I say?(v. 14-19) He would have to implore the mercy of the Judge.
2. If I could declare my own innocence, what good would it do?(v. 20-24 God would declare Job guilty; his own mouth would condemn Job.
3. If I tried to be positive and cheerful, how would that help me? (v. 25-31) Job tells his friends if he forgot his complaints, put away his sad face, and was cheerful, he would still dread the pain. go would still find him guilty.
4. Is it possible to have a mediator who could represent my needs before God? (v. 32-35)

If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together. (verse 33)

Job desires a go-between to help him communicate with holy and mighty God. He wishes for one who could argue his case. Job cannot stand before the holy Judge. Job knows that he is no Deity and unqualified to stand before God. Also, God is not  a man to stand before Job. He was stuck. Job's friend Bildad did not supply any answers for him, either.

LET IT GROW

Paul, in his first letter to his young friend Timothy, wrote that we have One who represents us to God the Father-Jesus Christ.

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.  1 Timothy 2:5 NAS

When it comes to eternal life, Jesus is the One who provided it for us. It was Jesus' blood that makes us pure before a holy God. Jesus spoke of Himself as  the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)
This is as fundamental belief in Christianity.

Job had not met our Mediator yet, but later on the world would hear about Him. His questions were from a man who knew God and was overwhelmed by the sense of His greatness. Job's smallness cried out for a mediator to help him understand why all the tragedies came into his life.

Death will eventually come to all of us. Are we ready to stand before God? If not, then please ask Him to forgive your sin and be your Savior, your mediator before that day.

LET IT GO

                                 ... of pride and humble myself before God.
                                 ... and trust Jesus as the only way to God.
                                 .. and thank Jesus for all He has done for me a sinner.

Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes way the sins of the world.