THE BREATHS AND BEATS OF AMAZING GRACE

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com. 

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Job spoke again:

“You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you! Well, I know a few things myself—and you’re no better than I am. Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying? Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me. People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling. But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety—though God keeps them in His power.”

“Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you. For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the Lord. For the life of every living thing is in His hand, and the breath of every human being. The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods. Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.”

“But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are His. What He destroys cannot be rebuilt. When He puts someone in prison, there is no escape. If He holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If He releases the waters, they flood the earth. Yes, strength and wisdom are His; deceivers and deceived are both in his power. He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools. He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist. He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power. He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders. He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong.”

“He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom. He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them. He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland. They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.”

Job 12:1-25 (NLT)

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After hearing his third friend condemn him, Job once again spoke, part in defense of himself against what his friends had alleged, part in defense of himself against God.

Chapter 12 begins with Job defending against his friends who have all had their chance to speak their mind to him. What did Job think about their words? Not much. In fact, at the beginning of this chapter, we find Job telling them sarcastically, “You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!” Indeed, his friends had come off as if knowing the very mind of God Himself in the things they said, something God will correct them for in Chapter 42. Job went on to assert he was a little knowledgeable as well and just as knowledgeable as his friends who he said were no better than he was.

It’s rather clear that Job was not only angry at Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar but with other friends as well who instead of supporting Job chose to instead “laugh at him”. Job felt that those without problems had no problem mocking those who were suffering, giving a push to someone who may already be stumbling. In other words, they add insult to injury.

On the surface, this passage in Chapter 11 could be discarded as Job still being bitter over his affliction and trouble, bitter at anyone who tried to help him and bitter at God who Job felt had afflicted the innocent while allowing the guilty to live in plenty and peace. But if we solely look at this passage that way, we would miss a very important point Job made that we should never forget, a point about the Almighty God that he and we serve.

Job knew that his suffering had come at the hands of God. He doesn’t seek to put the blame anywhere else. And although he couldn’t comprehend why God was doing what He was doing to him, yearning for an audience with God to find out the answers he sought, Job clearly knew all about who and what God was to man. Verse 10 clearly reveals this as Job says this about the Maker and Creator:

“For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.”

Indeed, God was in control and in Him will always be found “true wisdom and power…counsel and understanding.” He will also dictate the lives of His people according to His will for each of them, blessing and judging as He deems appropriate. Too often man thinks they should dictate to God about what should happen in their lives. That’s just not the way it works. Man doesn’t dictate to God…God dictates to man. Truly, the life of every living thing is in His hand…and the breath of every human being.

Yes, God holds every breath we take in His hand. I just checked my own breathing and took 10 inhales and exhales in one minute. Doing some quick math, that would be 600 and hour and 7,200 breaths in one day…7,200 life sustaining breaths. I also took a check of my heart beat for if God grants us life, then just as He grants us breath, surely He controls the very beats of our heart. For me, 84 beats in a minute…and once again doing the math, I calculate 5,040 beats an hour and a whopping 120,960 beats a day. Beats all granted by a God who sustains my life just as He does yours.

The sheer numbers are mind boggling and I’m not even going to bore you with how many breaths and heart beats God has granted over my over 52 years of life. We can easily figure out how amazing God is when we consider all that He does for us to the most micro level. An amazing God grants us amazing grace with every breath and every heartbeat with every event a special life sustaining gift from above.

You know, we should always keep this in mind. God’s love for us is as close as a breath drawn in and exhaled…as close as a beat of our heart.

Thanks be to God for Job reminding us of this even in the midst of deep suffering.

and

Thanks be to God - our Maker, Creator and Friend - for His goodness and grace, in good times and in bad.   

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

WHO SHOULD CONDEMN?

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com. 

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

“Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’ Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.”

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below —what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.”

“If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? But the witless can no more become wise than a wild donkey’s colt can be born human.”

“Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.  You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.”

Job 11:1-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Job, Chapter 11, we meet the third of Job’s friends who came to be with him after he was afflicted.

It didn’t take long for this friend, Zophar, to rip into Job in response to his words in Chapters 9 and 10. His words were biting as he said:

“Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’ Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.”

There are a couple of problems with Zophar’s opening.

First, he doesn’t accurately depict Job’s actions as Job ever mocked God in any of his words. He may have had a load of questions regarding what God was doing to him, wishing he could provide a defense for himself but he didn’t mock God.

Secondly, Zophar talks as if he knows all about God and what He has done in Job’s case. He tells Job that God has “forgotten some of your sin.” How does he know? Truly, it’s little wonder that God rebukes not just Zophar but the other two friends as well in Chapter 42.

Finally, Zophar’s words are nothing short of a condemnation of Job. Was Zophar suddenly appointed as God’s spokesperson? No, he was teeing off on Job on his own, as if he was more righteous than his friend.

And he didn’t stop at just speaking for God in regard to Job’s alleged shortcomings. No, Zophar went on to speak as if he knew exactly what God would do if Job would just repent from his sins. The scriptures tell us he said the following:

“Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.  You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.”

God never promised us instant brighter noondays or mornings as a result of repentance. That is a fast food spirituality. I order good times and God delivers them. That’s not quite the way it works. God will act on His will and His will alone. We will never understand it but we’re not supposed to fully understand God. We are only supposed to seek His will for us and carry that will out.

Maybe Zophar would have been better suited to take his own words into consideration. He asks Job, “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?”, knowing Job could not. Neither could Zophar and this is why he couldn’t speak with the level of authority he chose to speak with. 

Friends, if we’re not careful as we attempt to support someone who is going through difficulties, we can make the same mistakes as Zophar and the other two friends. Our support can shift to judgment…our encouragement can turn to condemnation. And when we shift that way, we can expect those we are trying to help to reject our words, just as much as Job was rejecting the words of his friends.

In the final translation, no one should feel they have the right to condemn as none of us are that righteous before God to represent Him as a judge. God is more than able to do that Himself.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

THE NEED FOR A MEDIATOR

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com. 

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Job replied:

“When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him. If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’ God does not restrain his anger; even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.”

“How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him? Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy. Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing. He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason. He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery. If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him? Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.”

“Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life. It is all the same; that is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent. When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?”

“My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy. They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey. If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,’ I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent. Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder, you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me.”

“He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.”

“I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. I say to God: Do not declare me guilty, but tell me what charges you have against me. Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the plans of the wicked? Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a strong man, that you must search out my faults and probe after my sin — though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand?”

“Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.”

“But this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that this was in your mind: If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished. If I am guilty —woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction. If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me. You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger toward me; your forces come against me wave upon wave.”

“Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me. If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave! Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and utter darkness, to the land of deepest night, of utter darkness and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.”

Job 9:11-35, 10:1-22

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How great is God?

At the beginning of Job, Chapter 9, Job tells us based on what he understood about Him.

In sum, Job viewed God as having the following qualities:

- Displays profound wisdom.

- Possesses vast power.

- Ability to move mountains or even overturn them if He so wanted to.

- Ability to shake the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.

- Could control the sun to include not allowing it to shine.

- Could seal off the light of the stars.

- Was the only One who could stretch out the heavens and tread on the waves of the sea.

- The Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

- Performs wonders that cannot be fathomed.

- Performs countless miracles.

In other words, no one was like God and no one could rival Him.

But Job didn’t see this all powerful God as a help to Him…as someone who would save and rescue him from his pain and affliction. No, Job viewed God as an opponent, one he would love to be able to defend himself against but couldn’t because…well…who could challenge God?

We know Job’s frustration and feelings through his words. Looking at the passage, we see Job say the following:

“How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him? Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy. Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.”

“…if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him? Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.”

“He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.”

Job felt helpless and hurt before a powerful God and he fully understood that he had no chance against God. As we look back at the scriptures, we see all the things Job felt God could do to a mere mortal like him:

- “He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason. He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.”

-  “Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again?”

- “If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me. You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger toward me; your forces come against me wave upon wave.”

We also see through Job’s words that he still believes there is injustice to what is happening to him, questioning God over his circumstances. In fact Job said, “…I am blameless” inferring that God was afflicting an innocent man. He asserts that God makes it His regular business to go after the innocent because he can. After all, He is God and who can do anything about it?

We know this is Job’s attitude through the following statements:

“He destroys both the blameless and the wicked. When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent. When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges.”

“…I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent. Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder, you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me.”

“I say to God: Do not declare me guilty, but tell me what charges you have against me. Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the plans of the wicked? Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a strong man, that you must search out my faults and probe after my sin — though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand?”

“…this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that this was in your mind: If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished. If I am guilty —woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction.”

Powerless against the all powerful. Unable to form a defense for himself. These were Job’s feelings before God…and guess what? They are ours as well.

This is why Job saw the need for a mediator then, why we should see the need today, and why generations still to come will need to seek and find one in the future.

Fact: No one has a chance against God Almighty without a mediator...and there is only one true Mediator (capital “M”)…Jesus Christ.

Ever since Adam and Eve committed the first sin, mankind has been sin-afflicted…every man, woman and child, sure of receiving God’s eternal judgment short of having a mediator, someone who could save them from their sins.

Enter Jesus, God’s one and only Son.

Before Jesus, sacrifices were rendered to atone for the sins of the people of God. When Jesus was sacrificed through crucifixion on Calvary’s cross, His shed blood atoned for the sins of all mankind…and His subsequent resurrection from the tomb paved the way for those who placed their belief and trust in Him to follow. Jesus rose from the grave to sit at the right hand of God the Father…and became the only way for us to get there as well. Jesus told us as much in John 14:6 saying that no one could come to the Father except by Him.

So how does this fit this devotion?

Picture yourself having to stand before Almighty God to give an account for your life. No one will ever stand blameless before Him. All of us are already destined for a guilty charge and condemnation through damnation. But just at this moment, Jesus steps into the scene. You believed and trusted Him as your Savior during your life and did your best to follow in His ways, despite your imperfections. Jesus looks at His Father…your Father…and says to Him, “This person is pardoned. I have already paid the penalty for their sins.” And immediately, the Father releases you from your consequence and instead sets you free to live with Him and His Son Jesus, your Savior, forever.

All because you had a Mediator.

Friends, there are many people like Job out there, hurting and suffering and trying to make sense of it all. They see God as a disciplinarian and wonder if there is really justice in what He is doing to them. And they maybe see themselves as helpless before an all powerful God, wishing they just had someone who could intercede with their Father on their behalf. They need to know their Mediator.

This is why Jesus as He departed gave all His disciples orders to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching others to obey all that Christ commanded. There are countless thousands upon thousands who need to know their Mediator…just like Job did…and find their very salvation in the process.

Maybe you or I will be the very one to help them find Him. It should be our daily calling.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

THE GREATNESS OF GOD

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com. 

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Job replied:

“Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God? Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand. His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed? He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; He seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.”

Job 9:1-10

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I think we can all agree that life can be hard sometimes. In fact, there are times when it is extremely difficult to handle.

And we can’t always plan for these times when life goes south. Often, things happen in the blink of an eye and change life forever. A tragic death. A test result and diagnosis from a physician. A lost job. A natural disaster that takes away a home.

Yes, life can change in a moment and turn us upside down. Just ask Job.

Described as a blameless and upright servant of God, he had everything going for him. A large number of livestock. A wonderful family to include beautiful children. Good health. He was on easy street.

Then in the course of a few days, it all changed. He lost all his livestock. His children were killed. And he was terribly afflicted with sores from head to toe. Job’s misfortunes exemplified the saying, “From the penthouse to the outhouse.”

As we have read Job’s words after his affliction, he has been bitter, wishing he had never been born. And despite his friends best efforts to get Job back on track spiritually, he rejected their attempts, unable to understand why God would allow him to have to suffer so. Job’s resentment over his circumstances was drawing him away from God and in doing so taking away his inner peace.

If only Job had been able to have access to the words of Paul when he was going through his troubles. For in just two verses penned for the Philippian church, Paul captured God’s prescription for dealing with life’s challenges and hardships. He wrote:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

We’re instructed by God’s word to not be anxious about anything. No anxiety about any thing in life. And that goes for other negative emotions similar to anxiety…like stress, worry, or fear. We’re not to allow any of it to happen.

How in the world do we do that?

We trust in God and His greatness.

You see, Job was well aware of the greatness of God. Look at the first verses in Chapter 9. Job wrote of a God who had the following qualities:

- Displays profound wisdom.

- Possesses vast power.

- Ability to move mountains or even overturn them if He so wanted to.

- Ability to shake the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.

- Could control the sun to include not allowing it to shine.

- Could seal off the light of the stars.

- Was the only One who could stretch out the heavens and tread on the waves of the sea.

- The Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

- Performs wonders that cannot be fathomed.

- Performs countless miracles.

Job knew what God could do. We should know as well. So why would we ever be anxious or worry or stress or fear? The greatness of God revealed to us through the scriptures and witnessed by us in our life experience is there for us to help us through our circumstances. God is for us, not against us. That’s good news, is it not?

This is why we need to place our burdens, whatever they might be at the throne of the Most High God and entrust them to His miraculous, wondrous, vast power. This is why we need to trust that what He is doing in our lives, even if we are suffering, is for our good because His wisdom is so profound and beyond our comprehension. We need to fully understand that God has worked greater miracles than helping us get through our present circumstances.

And so we go to Him in prayer and petition with thanksgiving, giving Him everything that is troubling us…unloading the weight off of our shoulders and giving it to the only One who can bear it.

When we truly get this and do it, something amazing happens. We find peace…and not just any peace…no, we find a peace that transcends understanding, a peace that no one or nothing can give you. Not your pastor, not your parents, not your spouse, not your friends, not some self help book or meditation routine.

No, only God can give a peace that transcends understanding. This is what Job was missing. In the midst of trying to figure out why things were happening to him, relying on his own understanding, Job was not surrendering and submitting his burdens to God. And subsequently, he was far from receiving the peace that transcends understanding. Instead, he suffered from inner torment.

Friends, why is it so hard for us to just trust the God of Creation? We, just as Job, know of His almighty power and might and yet we just fail to connect the dots and see that the same power that He used to rescue and redeem His beloved people of Israel (reference parting the sea or providing manna and quail in the desert) is available to help you and I.

Today and forever more, let’s all make a solemn vow to do just that. To fully realize God for His greatness…for who He is and what He can do…then trust that He is working powerfully in and around us and is only a prayer away to help us with our circumstances and lead us into a peace that transcends understanding.

Who doesn’t yearn for that?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

THE DEFINITION OF HOPELESSNESS

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com. 

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

“How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind. Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? When your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to the penalty of their sin. But if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your prosperous state. Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.”

“Ask the former generation and find out what their ancestors learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding? Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider’s web. They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold. They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden; it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones. But when it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’ Surely its life withers away, and from the soil other plants grow.”

“Surely God does not reject one who is blameless or strengthen the hands of evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”

Job 8:1-22

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Chapters 6 and 7, we read Job’s words in response to what his friend Oliphaz said. Those words were laced with bitterness and represented Job’s continued spiral down into despair and depression.

In Chapter 8, we read a response to Job’s words from another one of his friends, the Shuhite named Bilhad. Like Oliphaz, he responds harshly to Job’s attitude asking him how long he will continue to speak with his current attitude…with words described by Bilhad as being like a “blustering wind.”

Bilhad asks Job if God could “pervert justice” or “what is right”. It would be ridiculous to refer to God Almighty as unjust in His ways as all His ways are perfect. All are sinners and fall short of the glory of God without His mercy and grace. In our sinfulness, we are always prone to correction from our Father. Bilhad used Job’s children as an example saying that their sin had led to the penalty they received. We’re not given any indication that Bilhad was given any information from God to validate his words but then again, we can’t invalidate them either. We have to trust that God is just and give Him the honor He deserves, no matter how painful His judgment might be.

Bilhad didn’t want to see his friend Job find the same fate as his children. This is why he implored Job to “seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty” because if Job would be “pure and upright” then God would “rouse Himself” on Job’s behalf and restore Him to a “prosperous state”…a state of prosperity far greater than where he was before his afflictions.

What would happen if Job turned from God, becoming godless?

His destiny would be one of hopelessness as hope would die and give way to despair. Indeed, Job was already on his way there as we have seen in his spoken words.

Bilhad uses several examples to make his point but essentially he says at the end of Chapter 8 that a loss of hope results in a person withering away into fragility with no strong foundation to lean on or stand upon. While those who know God flourish and grow, the godless person finds nowhere to take root as everywhere suitable for him or her to grow rejects them because of their lack of belief in the only One who can sustain and give life…the only One who can repair and restore.

Life is pretty simple when it comes to the choice we make spiritually. The world may offer many options but there are really only two.

Option 1: You believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who told us that He and the Father are one (John 10:30)…and the One who told us that the only way to the Father is through Him (John 14:6).

or

Option 2: You choose to not believe and trust in Jesus, rejecting the Son and His Father who gave Him freely to offer us eternal life.

Option 1 will ever bring us hope.

Option 2 is the definition of hopelessness.

Which choice have you made?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

THE DANGERS OF BITTERNESS

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com. 

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Job replied:

“If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—no wonder my words have been impetuous. The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshaled against me. Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox bellow when it has fodder? Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow?  I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill.”

“Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut off my life! Then I would still have this consolation — my joy in unrelenting pain — that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.”

“What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient? Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze? Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?”

“Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow, but that stop flowing in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels. Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go off into the wasteland and perish. The caravans of Tema look for water, the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope. They are distressed, because they had been confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed. Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are afraid. Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf, pay a ransom for me from your wealth, deliver me from the hand of the enemy, rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?”

“Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove? Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat my desperate words as wind? You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend.”

“But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice?”

“Do not mortals have hard service on earth? Are not their days like those of hired laborers? Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired laborer waiting to be paid, so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering.”

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more. As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so one who goes down to the grave does not return. He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more.”

 “Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you put me under guard? When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.”

“What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more.”

Job 6:1-30, 7:1-21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Chapters 4 and 5, Job’s friend, Oliphaz, attempted to change his attitude regarding the hardships he had gone through, reminding Job that although God judged and often afflicted, He also pardoned and restored. We know Job had been a faithful servant of God before his life was changed drastically through loss and affliction. But now in the midst of his suffering, something had changed in Job. He had been overcome by bitterness.

For in Chapters 6 and 7, we read where Job speaks after hearing his friend’s words and continues to deliver complaint, not just against God but against his friends as well. Bitterness can do this to us. It can cause us to lash out at those who may care about us the most. Job felt that he had been poisoned by “the arrows of the Almighty”, speaking about the sores that now covered him from head to toe. He had it half right. He was poisoned…not by arrows shot by God but rather by his bitter spirit that raged against anyone who was in earshot.  

The easy thing to do in looking at Job’s situation is to bash him for his attitude. But Job was human. How would you and I react if we had gone through the same loss and illness? We probably wouldn’t be in the best of spirits either. But we must look at Job’s case and learn from it…learn from it so we might be better equipped to deal with immense hardship if we ever have to.

Let’s look specifically at what bitterness did to Job.

First, it brought on misery and anguish….misery and anguish that weighed heavy on Job’s heart and mind. How heavy? Job said that if it were “placed on the scales” it would “outweigh the sands of the seas.” Indeed, Job was heavy burdened. If only he had laid his burdens down at the very God he was questioning. He could have found relief and a peace that transcends understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).

Second, bitterness sapped Job’s desire for life. We had read prior in Chapter 3 where Job cursed the very day he was born. He continued to wish he would die in the verses of Chapter 6 saying, “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut off my life! Then I would still have this consolation — my joy in unrelenting pain — that I had not denied the words of the Holy One…I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.”

Despair and depression can be extremely dangerous as underscored by the high rates of suicide we see today. Life to those in the midst of these emotions can seem worthless. Bitter resentment of life itself cancels out the worth of it and this is exactly what happened to Job.

Third, bitterness will weaken us and dampen our hope. Job asked, “What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient? Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze? Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?...My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more. As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so one who goes down to the grave does not return. He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more.”

Indeed, hardship will wear a person out and when we’re down and out…unable to see light in our darkness…then hope begins to vanish. We realize in a hurry when we go through trials that we don’t have the strength to make it on our own. This is all the more reason why we need God in our lives.

Job was right. He didn’t have the strength to endure what he was going through. His wrong came in rejecting vice reaching out to the God who could grant him the strength and patience to endure.

Fourth, bitterness makes you turn on people who care about you. In Job’s case, he chose to lash out at his friends who had traveled a distance to be with him. Job referred to his friends as brothers and in return for their caring about him and making the trip to be by his side, he referred to them as “undependable as intermittent streams” and bluntly told them they “proved to be of no help” to him. He then insulted them by saying they would even “cast lots for the fatherless and barter away (their) friend”, referring of course to himself.

Often, the people closest to a person suffering are the ones who take the brunt of that person’s bitterness. I’ve seen it first hand on several occasions in my own family. If you’re on the receiving end of bitterness, love and understand the person who is suffering. It’s what God would expect us to do. If we don’t, we might just find that we too get poisoned by bitterness and become bitter toward the one who showed it to us. You see, bitterness can spread.

Fifth, bitterness brings on a spirit of complaining. Job vented about his affliction saying, “…I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering… When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions…Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”

We can all get caught us in the matter of complaining about our lives. It’s easy to do. But when we persistently do it, then we move ourselves toward begrudging life instead of seeing it as a rich blessing. I have tried to remember that any hardship I am going through is minor compared to the suffering that a fellow man or woman might be going through at the same exact moment. In the midst of our circumstances, it’s hard to look outside of ourselves. But if we can keep the right world view and give ourselves a reality check, we can often see where we are still blessed, although afflicted. It’s the attitude God would want for us to have.

Finally, bitterness can take a person to a place where they even lash out at God. Job had no problem going there saying:

“What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more.”

Job seemed to not want to believe he would ever be judged by God. Was he that self righteous? It’s possible. Or maybe bitterness poisoned Job to the point where he would even question the very God who could heal him, rescue him, and restore him. Friends, we might turn from our friends, we might turn away from ourselves, but we should never ever turn away from God. This is why we need to recognize the danger of bitterness and turn from it when it starts. Nothing good will ever come from it if we allow it to take root in our hearts and minds.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com