Passage of the Day: Job 19 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: We’ve paused again in Job’s horrible status to take stock on how a man, so devastated and so wracked with pain, having been “educated” by three insensitive and mistaken friends, would still be able to say, with great hope and assurance in this chapter, “I know that my redeemer lives!”
Have you ever been in a place in your life when you were racked in pain and/or ill health? Nothing can dull one’s perspective or bring down the hope for the future than physical pain. And that’s why one, when such circumstance befall him, needs to have a clear hope for the future; and Swindoll is right in his devotional assertion that “… without the Lord Jesus Christ in your life, your steps are marked by uncertainty. … Few thoughts are more frightening then not knowing where you will be when you die.”
Job, having lost all that was dear to him in life and being deluged by physical oppression was still clear of mind and purpose because – and only because – his hope for this life and the next life as well was clearly defined by his faith. Job knew he had a Redeemer and that his Redeemer lived in his heart and would carry him into eternity. And that is why our hero could stand the pain and move forward.
Just this week I was privileged to hear the testimony of a dear brother in Christ who is likely, save a miracle from God, spending his last days on this earth. My friend, Marvin, has been fighting kidney, lung, and vastly spreading cancer for some time now. He was told at his diagnosis that he had but a year to live at most. Well, that was almost seven years ago; and now he’s very weak and likely in the latter stages of his fight. And this week, he was called to our rescue mission to give witness to Christ in his life; and his testimony at this luncheon chapel service took about all he had. But Marvin did it with confidence and joy because he knew that he knew that he knew that his Redeemer lives. And as we listened to our brother in Christ, anyone there in that mission chapel could sense the peace that Marvin had, knowing, beyond doubt, that if this is the end of his physical life, it is only the beginning of his eternal life. It was uplifting to be there with my brother, who, with his broken physical body, could lift us all up with his testimony of the living Christ, Who was walking with Marvin all the way into eternity.
Oh how I hope and pray that anyone reading this has Job’s kind of clarity of faith. Because without the assurance of your salvation and the clear understanding of the Savior Who redeems you and gives you His grace to live, when life takes a bad turn, you will question God and be vulnerable to fools like those in Job’s life. But when you know, beyond all doubt, that your Redeemer lives, you will be able to sit quietly in a chair, like my friend, Marvin, did this week, and give strong witness to where you are going into the vast hope that is eternity. We can go forward, no matter how racked we are in ill circumstances or pain and declare to all around us, “I know that my Redeemer lives!”
My Prayer for Today: And I can do just that, Lord, because I know You live in me. Amen
Showing posts with label clarity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clarity. Show all posts
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
2009 – Day 235.Aug 24 – Good And Bad Advice
Passage of the Day: Job 3: 1 - 26 … Linked for study ...
My Journal for Today: Once again we focus on the feelings of Job as he deals with his personal questions of ill being in Chapter three of Job’s book. He is so rocked by personal loss and pain that he doesn’t know where to turn for help or counsel; and as we know from Chapter 2, there sit his three friends who have earned the right to be heard because they have shared his grief. They even sat with him for seven days and nights sharing the solitude of Job’s loss. So, it’s only natural that Job would hear the counsel of these men, which begins, if you read ahead in Chapter 4.
And we all know what it’s like to seek counsel from another when we’re down and out or confused. And I’m sure that we’ve all had times when the advice we sought was helpful, … maybe even life saving. As we know, from the book of Proverbs, seeking feedback from persons we trust is a wise move. For example, Swindoll quotes Prov. 12: 15, which says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” Following good advice from wise or experienced counsel can help to bring clarity or release from our confusion or pain.
However, sometimes we get counsel and it seems like our counselors are hitting us between the eyes with even more pain. We know our counselors love us; but what they say is tough to hear, maybe even highly confrontational. It’s the working out of Prov. 27: 6, which states, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” It’s what we now often call “tough love.”
So, here is Job, wracked with pain and dazed by confusion over why God would visit his life with such devastation; and Job has three friends who have earned their way to be trusted as counselors. And I’m sure you know that one of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, in Job 4-5, gives our hero some feedback as to why God may have wrought or allowed Job to experience such horror. But is it bad or good advice; well that was what Job had to decide; and any time we get advice from someone, even if that person seems trustworthy or capable of being our counselor, we need to test that advice. That’s the truth of 1st John 4: 1 or 1st Thes. 5: 21; and that’s what Job had to do with the feedback he would received from his friends.
My friend, what this illustrates is not necessarily a bad thing, though we know that the advice Job will get from his three friends is less than sterling. It is still a good thing to seek out and listen to trustworthy and loyal servants of God, … Godly men or women, who have earned the right to share their thoughts and wisdom with you. However, following the counsel, it is also wise to evaluate what they say in light of God’s truth and, above all, to seek The Lord’s peace before moving on with any decision or clear direction. That is the advice I always use from Paul from Phil. 4: 6-7 [link provided] when I have need to make an important and Godly decision. That teaching would take some time here to clarify; but I’ll leave it to you to grasp the powerful advice of this latter Bible passage to help you understand where God is leading you.
And as we know, that’s where Job ultimately goes, checking all the counsel he receives from friends with God to make sure His relationship with God is were he receives the ultimate guidance and wisdom. I hope we all know to go deep with God and find God’s peace when we’re confused or lacking clarity. God’s peace, which passes all understanding, is really the only absolutely trustworthy way to get direction we’ll ever get to tell us where to walk in the minefields of life.
My Prayer for Today: Show me the way, Lord, … Your way. Amen
My Journal for Today: Once again we focus on the feelings of Job as he deals with his personal questions of ill being in Chapter three of Job’s book. He is so rocked by personal loss and pain that he doesn’t know where to turn for help or counsel; and as we know from Chapter 2, there sit his three friends who have earned the right to be heard because they have shared his grief. They even sat with him for seven days and nights sharing the solitude of Job’s loss. So, it’s only natural that Job would hear the counsel of these men, which begins, if you read ahead in Chapter 4.
And we all know what it’s like to seek counsel from another when we’re down and out or confused. And I’m sure that we’ve all had times when the advice we sought was helpful, … maybe even life saving. As we know, from the book of Proverbs, seeking feedback from persons we trust is a wise move. For example, Swindoll quotes Prov. 12: 15, which says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” Following good advice from wise or experienced counsel can help to bring clarity or release from our confusion or pain.
However, sometimes we get counsel and it seems like our counselors are hitting us between the eyes with even more pain. We know our counselors love us; but what they say is tough to hear, maybe even highly confrontational. It’s the working out of Prov. 27: 6, which states, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” It’s what we now often call “tough love.”
So, here is Job, wracked with pain and dazed by confusion over why God would visit his life with such devastation; and Job has three friends who have earned their way to be trusted as counselors. And I’m sure you know that one of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, in Job 4-5, gives our hero some feedback as to why God may have wrought or allowed Job to experience such horror. But is it bad or good advice; well that was what Job had to decide; and any time we get advice from someone, even if that person seems trustworthy or capable of being our counselor, we need to test that advice. That’s the truth of 1st John 4: 1 or 1st Thes. 5: 21; and that’s what Job had to do with the feedback he would received from his friends.
My friend, what this illustrates is not necessarily a bad thing, though we know that the advice Job will get from his three friends is less than sterling. It is still a good thing to seek out and listen to trustworthy and loyal servants of God, … Godly men or women, who have earned the right to share their thoughts and wisdom with you. However, following the counsel, it is also wise to evaluate what they say in light of God’s truth and, above all, to seek The Lord’s peace before moving on with any decision or clear direction. That is the advice I always use from Paul from Phil. 4: 6-7 [link provided] when I have need to make an important and Godly decision. That teaching would take some time here to clarify; but I’ll leave it to you to grasp the powerful advice of this latter Bible passage to help you understand where God is leading you.
And as we know, that’s where Job ultimately goes, checking all the counsel he receives from friends with God to make sure His relationship with God is were he receives the ultimate guidance and wisdom. I hope we all know to go deep with God and find God’s peace when we’re confused or lacking clarity. God’s peace, which passes all understanding, is really the only absolutely trustworthy way to get direction we’ll ever get to tell us where to walk in the minefields of life.
My Prayer for Today: Show me the way, Lord, … Your way. Amen
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