Wednesday, August 05, 2009

2009 – Day 216.Aug 05 – Life Is Difficult, … No, Unfair

Blogger’s Note: Today I follow Pastor Swindoll into his study of the life of Job in Great Days with the Great Lives. I look forward to another study of Job, … one character in the Bible whom almost anyone can identify. We’ve all had challenges and difficult circumstances in life. Well, maybe they weren’t as horrid as Job’s; but how he reacted is a study in faithfulness and how believer’s can grow closer to God through trials and tribulations. I hope you’ll consider coming along daily with me in this study.

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Passage of the Day: Job 1: 1 – 12 … Linked for study …

My Journal for Today:
You may have studied this amazing character study in the Bible before. Preachers often use it to teach on faith in the face of trials or tribulations. And that is primarily because almost everyone can identify with Job. We all have experienced some of what Job is going to experience in upcoming portions of this Scriptural account. We’re just introducing the man today; and one thing becomes quite apparent.

Job didn’t deserve any of what he’s about to face in his life. So, not only, as my title for this devotion implies, was Job’s trial to be DIFFICULT, it was downright UNFAIR. And often that’s how we find ourselves, … facing circumstances which come against us which we don’t deserve. And here was an exemplary believer in God, one who walked the walk of faith, … not just some of the time, but all the time. He was the best of God’s best; … and yet, we look what happens to him.

Satan is given an almost free reign to take away almost everything from our hero, Job; and as we’ll read, Job becomes homeless, penniless, childless, and physically broken. And as Swindoll, points out, when you read the entire book of toil for Job, God goes silent and doesn’t show up again in the Book until chapter 38. And anyone who’s ever read or studied Job has to ask himself or herself, “How would I respond if I were Job? … Would my faith remain as his did if I lost some, let alone all, of what God had given me?”

We’re going to be exploring some of those issues in forthcoming study. But today, let’s just establish the precedence that life can be unfair; and we’re going to face trials and tribulations, many of which we may not deserve. And so, as we study the life of Job, in some degree we’re looking into a mirror of truth about life and our own personal trials. And through Job we can rehearse, by identification, some of the circumstances of loss we may experience and much of the pain of separation from God we may feel in such moments. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather do this in a biblical study of Job rather than have to learn the lessons first hand through the realities of being like Job.

Therefore, on this first day of my probe into the life of Job, I must admit, that I will pray never to be like Job. I’m a chicken! However, I will pray to respond as he did in the face of trials; and, … I do know it’s purposeful and productive to undertake this study. So, if you come along, let’s pray that we grow closer to God and become more like our Lord through this study.

My Prayer for Today: Father, to some degree I know what lies ahead; and I will never pray to be as Job was in circumstances; but I will ever pray to be like him in faith. Help me grow from this study, Lord. Amen

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