Tuesday SHINE....
Today's Reading: Job 4
Happy Tuesday, SHINE girls!
Oh, poor Job! My heart is breaking for him!
As we read his lament to the Lord in Chapter 3, our hearts pour out compassion and empathy for our friend, Job. It's a little (a lot) depressing, isn't it?
There is a lot to be learned here girls. Let's ask the Lord to apply this to our hearts and in our lives.
Is it okay to be sad? YES. Is it okay to not understand when bad things happen? YES. Is it okay to cry out to the Lord in our misery? YES.
This makes us human, girls. Flesh and blood.
This is when the Holy Spirit comes in and brings the Peace. Peace that transcends all understanding.
We do not understand. We are not God. What a relief.
Here is what I love about the end of Chapter 2. Job's 3 friends come to his house to grieve with him.
Listen to what they did: "Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was." Job 2:13
Oh, can't you just picture it? Job is surrounded by three of his closest buddies and no word is spoken for SEVEN days out of respect and grief for their friend. Seven days! I think this is such a beautiful portrait of Christ-like love and fellowship.
Moving on to Ch. 3, Job wails out to the Lord in his despair and anguish. He wishes that he would have never been born so that he could have been spared such sorrow.
Finally, we land on Chapter 4. Eliphaz, a friend of Job's boldly speaks up.
Poor Eliphaz, he was only trying to be helpful, but in turn made Job a even more upset. Eliphaz seemed to think that Job was being punished for a small sin. This makes Job very upset, as we will see in Chapter 5.
Job feels like he is not perfect, yet nor does he deserve this seeming punishment.
Again, poor Eliphaz. He was trying to "explain" it to Job, when in actuality, Eliphaz had no idea what he was talking about.
Little did Eliphaz know that God had allowed this to happen to Job because of Job's righteousness--not his sinfulness.
Have you ever been in that predicament? Something terrible happens and you feel the need to comfort your friend by "explaining" God's reasoning?
Are we God?
Do we think we understand His ways?
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9
Two months ago, I was having a very rough time. I called a few close friends and asked them to pray for me. My anxiety was at an all time high.
Not only did they pray for me, they all THREE showed up at my house early that morning ready to go to battle with me!
It still brings me to tears. They didn't come armed with "answers" and "explanations" of why I was under such attack. I would have been so upset if they would have told me that my "sinful" ways were the reason I was having to go through this.
Instead they prayed with me, prayed over me and prayed throughout my home. They armed me with scripture and God's word to assist me in the battle.
My three friends knew exactly what I needed....and what I did not need.
Girls, think about some of your closest relationships. Do they maybe just need you to listen to them, grieve with them, and pray with them?
Are they really looking for answers? Probably not.
They just need a friend.
I pray that each and every one of you have a few friends that you can count on for prayer and a listening ear. If you don't feel you have someone in your life like that, I encourage you to pray that God will send you a few.
Oh, He will. Trust Him to.
thanking Him for friends who show His love,
jill
Happy Tuesday, SHINE girls!
Oh, poor Job! My heart is breaking for him!
As we read his lament to the Lord in Chapter 3, our hearts pour out compassion and empathy for our friend, Job. It's a little (a lot) depressing, isn't it?
There is a lot to be learned here girls. Let's ask the Lord to apply this to our hearts and in our lives.
Is it okay to be sad? YES. Is it okay to not understand when bad things happen? YES. Is it okay to cry out to the Lord in our misery? YES.
This makes us human, girls. Flesh and blood.
This is when the Holy Spirit comes in and brings the Peace. Peace that transcends all understanding.
We do not understand. We are not God. What a relief.
Here is what I love about the end of Chapter 2. Job's 3 friends come to his house to grieve with him.
Listen to what they did: "Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was." Job 2:13
Oh, can't you just picture it? Job is surrounded by three of his closest buddies and no word is spoken for SEVEN days out of respect and grief for their friend. Seven days! I think this is such a beautiful portrait of Christ-like love and fellowship.
Moving on to Ch. 3, Job wails out to the Lord in his despair and anguish. He wishes that he would have never been born so that he could have been spared such sorrow.
Finally, we land on Chapter 4. Eliphaz, a friend of Job's boldly speaks up.
Poor Eliphaz, he was only trying to be helpful, but in turn made Job a even more upset. Eliphaz seemed to think that Job was being punished for a small sin. This makes Job very upset, as we will see in Chapter 5.
Job feels like he is not perfect, yet nor does he deserve this seeming punishment.
Again, poor Eliphaz. He was trying to "explain" it to Job, when in actuality, Eliphaz had no idea what he was talking about.
Little did Eliphaz know that God had allowed this to happen to Job because of Job's righteousness--not his sinfulness.
Have you ever been in that predicament? Something terrible happens and you feel the need to comfort your friend by "explaining" God's reasoning?
Are we God?
Do we think we understand His ways?
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9
Two months ago, I was having a very rough time. I called a few close friends and asked them to pray for me. My anxiety was at an all time high.
Not only did they pray for me, they all THREE showed up at my house early that morning ready to go to battle with me!
It still brings me to tears. They didn't come armed with "answers" and "explanations" of why I was under such attack. I would have been so upset if they would have told me that my "sinful" ways were the reason I was having to go through this.
Instead they prayed with me, prayed over me and prayed throughout my home. They armed me with scripture and God's word to assist me in the battle.
My three friends knew exactly what I needed....and what I did not need.
Girls, think about some of your closest relationships. Do they maybe just need you to listen to them, grieve with them, and pray with them?
Are they really looking for answers? Probably not.
They just need a friend.
I pray that each and every one of you have a few friends that you can count on for prayer and a listening ear. If you don't feel you have someone in your life like that, I encourage you to pray that God will send you a few.
Oh, He will. Trust Him to.
thanking Him for friends who show His love,
jill
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."
Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
