Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please go this video link to hear Sara Groves singing I’ll Wait, reminding us that sometimes instead of taking action, the best way to live out our faith is just to wait … and then we often need to learn to listen to the needs of others before dealing with our own desires.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Job 31: 35 [NKJV] …
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Job 2: 11-13 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passages #1 ... Job 1: 13-22 … Go to this link ... Job loses everything but his life …
Reference Passages #2 ... Job, Chapter 42 …. Go to this link .... Job finally really listens to God, repents, and all is restored unto him…
Reference Passages #3 ... Philippians 2: 3-4 ….
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
My Journal for Today: I don’t know about you; but often I find myself with someone who is in dire circumstances; and I want to fix things for them rather than just wait, listen, and hear their heart, which is the best thing I can be doing for them when they’re hurting.
The lessons about really listening with a heart of love (hear the Sara Groves song linked above) is brought out clearly in Job’s sorrow-filled journal. If you take in the highlight and reference passages above, we know that Job had lost about everything that meant anything in his world; and he did have friends that came to him and fulfilled the grieving customs of the day (see Gen. 50:10; 1 Sam. 31:13; Isa. 3:26; Lam. 2:10; Jonah 3:6). However, when it comes to really listening to Job’s heart, his “friends” really didn’t LISTEN and were only able to offer self-driven theories and advice. Perhaps you’ve been with someone in a time of dire loss or need in your own life; and you sensed that they were preoccupied with themselves rather than really listening to your heart. Such a so-called “friend” really doesn’t help at all, does he/she?
So, today’s Our Daily Bread uses a focus lesson on the life and losses of Job, helping us to realize the truth of what Paul wrote in the New Testament (see Phil. 2: 3-4 above); because to really consider and hear the hearts of other, especially those in dire need, as was Job, one needs to listen, as the attached photo declares, with a heart of love.
So, as we go about life – maybe even today – let’s all tune out our selfish desires and REALLY LISTEN to the lives of others who need our listening love more than just our presence and our words of advice.
My Prayer for Today … Lord, help me to share Your love by listening intently to the hearts of others in need. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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