Have You Considered Job?

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Then Job spoke again:  “I have heard all this before.  What miserable comforters you are!  Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air?  What makes you keep on talking?  I could say the same things if you were in my place.  I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.  But if it were me, I would encourage you.  I would try to take away your grief.  Instead, I suffer if I defend myself, and I suffer no less if I refuse to speak.  “O God, you have ground me down and devastated my family.  As if to prove I have sinned, you’ve reduced me to skin and bones.  My gaunt flesh testifies against me.  God hates me and angrily tears me apart.  He snaps his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes.  People jeer and laugh at me.  They slap my cheek in contempt.  A mob gathers against me.  God has handed me over to sinners.  He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked.  “I was living quietly until he shattered me.  He took me by the neck and broke me in pieces.  He set me up as his target, and now his archers surround me.  His arrows pierce me without mercy.  The ground is wet with my blood.  Again and again he smashes against me, charging at me like a warrior.  I wear burlap to show my grief.  My pride lies in the dust.  My eyes are red with weeping; dark shadows circle my eyes.  Yet I have done no wrong, and my prayer is pure.  “O earth, do not conceal my blood.  Let it cry out on my behalf.  Even now my witness is in heaven.  My advocate is there on high.  My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God.  I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends.  Job 16:1-21

There is so much pathos and meaning of life in the Book of Job, it could hardly be exhausted in months of study; perhaps years; maybe only when, in Heaven, we have One who can unveil for us the depth of Job’s sorrow, confusion, and grief. 

This chapter is the fifth time Job answers his friends.  They have been trying to get their suffering friend to see how he must have sinned really-big, and really-dark to get God that ticked-off.  Job’s children were all dead, his riches gone, his livestock and goods carried off by robbers and thieves.  The icing on the cake is painful boils covering Job’s body, and his wife has suggested suicide would be better. 

Most studies of Job focus on this calamity of a good man suffering utter loss.  And there’s nothing wrong with picking it apart in the search for meaning, purpose, and order in human existence.  God created us with a brain to figure these things out!  But there is one connection we must never miss.  Given the total unravelling of a good man’s life, what can we say about God’s purpose in allowing all that?  Simply put, all of what happened to Job helps us understand life’s rain, good or horrible, falls on the just and the unjust, and is an example, which Paul writes in   1 Corinthians 10[1] that leads to Job’s conclusion:

I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends.  Job 16:1-21

Job was hurting, and he knew God permitted everything that happened to him.  He knew, as good a life as he’d led, and as holy as he tried to be, his efforts just weren’t enough.  Whatever troubles anyone on earth could experience, Job was not exempt; he needed a mediator, an advocate to plead his case before God.

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.  1 John 2:1

For You Today 

You may be on the verge of following Mrs. Job’s advice to her husband, or maybe you’ve suffered little in life…yet!  Whether you are there now, and down to your last shred of hope, or leading a joy-filled, even carefree life, remember this, and count on it…you do have someone who will love you.  His name is Jesus.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com  

Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] Read 1 Corinthians 10

Hope Renewed

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

But now Timothy has just returned, bringing us good news about your faith and love.  He reports that you always remember our visit with joy and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you.  So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith.  It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.  How we thank God for you!  Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.  Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith.  May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon.  And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.  May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people.  Amen.  1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

A friend who, with her husband, is facing a mountain of medical problems recently shared how, even though she and her husband have faith that is strong, there are valleys of fear the enemy throws in their way.  I know how she feels, and so do you.  We can say that without shame or embarrassment, because one of the pillars of the New Testament fathers, apostle Paul, shared the same, being greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering.  That encouragement came as Timothy brought news of the Thessalonian believer’s faith “standing firm” which renewed his hopes for their strong witness.  Paul said that good news was like new life.  Paul’s faith is unquestioned, yet the “wear and tear” of years on the road battling human and spiritual opposition do take their toll. 

The apostle’s reaction, having his hope renewed, led to an outburst of joy that he might soon see those dear friends and be able to contribute (filling in the gaps of their faith). 

In this we stand certain…strong faith in Christ is what renews hope in hard times.  And with hope renewed for the downtrodden, oppressed, and marginalized, the result is greater vision for a future of God’s blessing.  This is what the church stands for, not building bigger sanctuaries, larger attendances, better programs, and slicker organizations; the church stands for the hope of Christ in each of us[1], a testament to the marvelous grace extended to all who, though unworthy, are willing to bend a knee at the cross.  It is the message of forgiveness and love, born in Heaven, fleshed-out on Calvary’s hill, and celebrated with every breath in those who have received Christ.

For You Today 

If you’re facing trouble of any sort, and any size, don’t manage it by yourself.  Just as my friend shared with her community, keep engaged with those of strong faith; it is there you will be in a perfect place to find your hope renewed.  And with that hope renewed and shared to others, you just might start an explosion of faith!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com  

Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] Colossians 1:27

So Many Questions - Only One Answer

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:  “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?  Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.  “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell me, if you know so much.  Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?  What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?  “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?  For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.  I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.  Here your proud waves must stop!  Job 38:1-11

For 37 chapters Job has heard no answers from heaven about why his children died, why his reputation in the community died, and why his wealth crumbled, and why his wife lost faith in him and advised him to curse God for all of it, lie down and just die.  You can certainly believe it; Job had questions…a lot of them.  And from the tone of Job’s voice, while debating with his well-intentioned dragons, the neighbors who feigned deep concern, but had already made up their minds that Job must have had closet sins which were the reason God was punishing him, you can deduce that Job figured he was entitled to some answers! 

Finally, God does give an answer to all those questions.  And they all had the same answer…a question, really; God asked Job:  With so little understanding, my dear child, how did you even manage to lace-up your sandals this morning?

God’s commentary followed, describing for Job how he couldn’t possibly understand God’s thought process for allowing Satan to sift through Job’s life and create such chaos.  That commentary was about the creation, starting with the DNA of the tiniest creature, to the great Leviathan beasts roaming the open seas.  He described assembling the foundation of the earth, and teaching the stars to sing, while arranging all the majestic splendour of life, physical and metaphysical. 

Gods’ answer continues for another chapter and a half, but it’s still one answer, a description of God’s majesty, displayed in creation, and how Job, a latecomer to time and eternity, really doesn’t have enough brain power to even begin understanding God’s ways, let alone instructing God in His responsibilities.  Here’s how the conversation finishes…God says to Job:

“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?  You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” 

Then Job replied to the Lord, “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?  I will cover my mouth with my hand.  I have said too much already.  I have nothing more to say.”  Job 40:2-5

Finally…Job lays-hold of an intelligent thing to say to an Almighty, Sovereign God!

For You Today 

There exists in our world an arrogance which is as old as Satan prancing into heaven and challenging God to this battle with Job’s soul as the prize.  It is the arrogance that we humans have judging God for the bad stuff that happens.  We charge God as scapegoat for all the misery we have created by ignoring His love and righteousness.  We choose destruction over the plan of God for good and holy living.  And then, in our pride, we blame him for our choices.

Approach God in your day today…listen much, say less…let Him love you.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Wondering About the Big Stuff Series:  Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  and We Mortals

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

The Yin and Yang of Poverty, Hunger, and Weeping

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon.  They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed.  Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.  Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.  God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied.  God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.  What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.  When that happens, be happy!  Yes, leap for joy!  For a great reward awaits you in heaven.  And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.  

Luke 6:17-23

Jesus makes the not-so-subtle point that there is coming a time when the world will be stood on its ear.  The “yin and yang” concept of opposites understands anything that exists has a corresponding, but opposing counterpart.  Darkness is defined by the absence of light.  Hot and cold can never co-exist without being changed by the other.  In the heart and mind of God, poverty, hunger, and weeping are the temporary prelude to the eternal fruition of joy, satisfaction, and wholeness.

C.S. Lewis’ statement on this has always intrigued me:  “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

Of course that other world concept refers to God’s Kingdom.  The world in which we now must live is fallen, corrupted by sin’s corrosive power.  For a believer, this world’s system, steeped in the deadly charisma of all manner of abomination (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride[1]), has nothing to offer an eternal soul, except the fire that purges it.  That is the yin of our existence.  And we, poverty-stricken, weep over the emaciated disorder of life in this far country.  Hungering for righteousness we long for the yang of light, laughter, and, like Humpty Dumpty, being put back together again.  We long for the eternal place, not made with hands – a home that makes everything right.

Luke’s descriptive of Jesus’ answer to the cries of the people is four words of manna that promise what the soul craves:  …and he healed everyone.   

For You Today  

       ·       Been persecuted for the sake of Christ? 

       ·       Been humiliated for your faith? 

       ·       Been deprived of rights because you refused to compromise? 

Those are only the yin of this world’s momentary muscle-flexing; there is a yang, a Beulah Land, where God’s eternal joy is waiting for all who trust Him.  It’s the place where poverty, hunger, and weeping will find no place to rest.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

A Life of Polar Opposites  and  Wisdom From Above 

This is an updated version of “So Much Anger” published on Rocky Road Devotions January 16, 2014

Images:  Title via Wikimedia.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

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[1] The seven deadly sins

Passing the Baton

Monday, January 9, 2023

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.  Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  Ephesians 3:14-19

Paul is writing final letters to his dear friends.  His days as a prisoner were coming to an end, and it was not to be a parole; Paul was under a sentence of death.  One of the purposes of the letter was to absolve from any guilt this  group of believers in Ephesus whom he loved deeply, and doing so, to draw them more deeply into Christ’s love.  Paul’s singular charge from God was to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles.  He had developed a reptutation as a heretic among the Jews, a traitor for saying God’s love was for everyone.[1]  The Jewish leaders pulled every string they could to silence the apostle.

This letter was a last testament of his love for his Ephesian family.  And in this text Paul’s prayer for them is for spiritual insight, that God would reveal the scope of God’s love to them, developing in that body of believers the kind of fullness of the Christian life they would need to carry-on the work Paul had begun with them.  The apostle was passing the baton to the next generation!

Mentors do that.  There are many people who influence your life, folks who reveal important things.  But, truth be told, there are fewer mentors, people who go out of their way to befriend, teach, counsel, and inspire.  This is passing the Good News baton to the next generation. 

Being a mentor, a passer of the baton, means several things are in place: 

First, some valuable learning must have taken hold in your life, if you’re going to pass along truth.  If you don’t have a baton to pass on, your leg of the race is worthless.  And before you just give up because you judge your ministry…that’s not up to you…that’s God’s prerogative.   

Second, there must be a longing beyond your reach.  As effective a missionary as Paul was, his most lasting dynamic was his willingness to leave it all on the field for someone else to pick up.

Third, you must be willing to let go of the reins.  Let’s face it…nobody drives like anybody else.  If you won’t trust God to work in the life of someone who looks up to you as mentor, you didn’t have a ministry, you had an agenda.

Most of us will not have to face the executioner’s axe, like Paul did, to realize the time of passing the baton was at hand.  Letting go to trust God’s hand is the supreme act of faith. 

For You Today  

To move into being a mentor for the next generation takes some experience, much vision, and a heart that is willing to reach the finish line.  Let’s give Paul the last word on that today:

I focus on this one thing:  Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.  Philippians 3:13b-14

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Understanding the Danger of Peanut Butter  and  Measuring the Love of God

Images:  Title Wikimedia Commons - public domain   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] See Galatians 3:28

Too Good for This World

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

How much more do I need to say?  It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets.  By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them.  They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength.  They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.  Women received their loved ones back again from death.  But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free.  They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.  Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips.  Others were chained in prisons.  Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword.  Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated.  They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.  All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.  For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.  

Hebrews 11:32-40

Paul, well-schooled in the history of God’s people, remembered the saints of ancient times.  He also had a firsthand knowledge of saints who were too good for this world.  Many Old Testament saints and prohets were a powerful force for good, at least temporarily.  By the time of Jesus’ birth there had been an absence of that kind of presence for 400 years.  The new brand of prophet was an outcast; the new brand of saints were sufferers, too good for this world..

Paul ends his comforting message to us with a reminder that, even with no earthly resolution to the difficulties, and even outright persecution we may suffer in remaining faithful to Christ, His plan for us is blessing. 

In the same way Job, who suffered at the hand of the unseen enemy, Lucifer, and, even with the help of wise friends who sat days on end with Job’s suffering, there was never an answer that quite satisfied that question we all have…WHY? 

In the end, we all must face the reality of human condition…we already know why; truth be told, we don’t like the answer, and we anguish in the search for something that lets us down gently. 

The reason for suffering is sin; the reason it hurts so much, is, merely entertaining the notion that we can do something about our problem without God only deepens and strengthens sin’s hold on us.  Paul expressed this frustration in his letter to the Roman church, along with the only answer that truly makes any sense in a sin-darkened world:

Oh, what a miserable person I am!  Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God!  The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Romans 7:24-25^a

For You Today  

Remember this day all those who suffered for the cause of faith in God.  Include those who suffer today from the persecution of this world’s evil ones, aligned against heaven in every way.  If you’re among the suffering, take heart, and hold faith tightly – God has something better planned for all saints.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

       Something Better   and   Impossible

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Can You Give Me a Reason for Suffering?

Thursday, October 27, 2022

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Paul must have had a reason for praising God in the middle of suffering.  Writing a letter to the church folk at Corinth, that reason for his suffering (and theirs) became transparently necessary to human living, and the cause of Christ.  That may sound like a circular argument without reason…suffering brings God’s comfort, and God’s comforting allows us to bear pain…but even if it appears circular, it is backed-up by sound theological understanding. 

The God-reason behind suffering has to do with living in a fallen world, in which there is no escape from suffering.  God did not create suffering to torture us, or just because we’re evil, and we need to be punished.  Rather, it is because of sin’s nature, and therefore we, in our sin nature, are prone to wander, suffer, and feel the pain of our folly.  We live in relationship with the other 7 billion souls on this planet, and so we are also going to suffer when we’ve not actually done something to deserve the pain.  Let’s face it, you didn’t get the Corona Virus because you stole a dollar from your Mom’s purse, and you don’t get the flu because you had an impure thought.  These are part of living in proximity to those who have the illness.  Sometimes we’re the winshield, and sometimes we’re the bug…stuff happens!

If suffering is unavoidable (and we know that to be true, despite unceasing human attempts to avoid pain at all costs, and at the expense of relationship, rest, fortune, or even reputation), well, what are we to make of God’s part in allowing pain?  Is it just a reminder of how bad we are?  Is it to teach us to behave?  And, if it’s just a capricious thing God does, because God can do it…why would Paul praise a God like that?

Well, lots of questions to be answered; most of the answers are unsatisfactory when your foot is killing you with every step, or your heart is failing, or your spouse just walked out on you, for what he said is the end.  Can you give me any reason or purpose for that suffering, which will give me even the slightest hope of continuing to live with purpose?  I mean, what’s the sense, if there’s no purpose?

The purpose in our suffering is often known only to God.  Paul had wrestled (like Job wrestled) with his thorn in the flesh[1] only to have God tell him he would have to wrestle with it longer…God’s grace would have to suffice for now.  History tells us Paul finally came to terms with his suffering and pain, and even death.  In Paul’s deep reasoning and understanding of God with us, and our need for His presence and purpose, and even our need for suffering, Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians gave the answer in a deeply-personal testimony of God’s answer to our dilemma with pain and suffering:

Oh, what a miserable person I am!  Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God!  The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Romans 7:24-25a

For You Today

In Paul’s answer about being freed in Jesus Christ, he also points to his former letter to the Corinthians, where he beautifully describes the purpose for the whole process:  Just as Christ came to heal us in our pain of sin-sickness, we, in our suffering, fulfill His ministry to comfort and heal others.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

       Suffering   and   When Pain Speaks

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] See 2 Corinthians 12