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Job God is good
Week 13 Day 1
Reading: Job 1:10-11 “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” NASB
Thought: In these verses we see Satan questioning the faith of Job and suggesting that if God reclaims all the blessings that he has given Job, that Job would curse God. This is precisely what Satan tries to do to us all; to separate us from God, to get us to question the goodness and the grace of God. Satan wants us to abandon God and shake our fist at Him. One of Satan’s favourite tools is to cause suffering; God knows that suffering, whilst it may be a test of faith, results in a strengthening of faith for those that trust Him through it. It is easy to believe God is good when things are wonderful, it is very hard to believe God is good when we or those around us suffer; though we may not understand why, God remains good.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, remind me that through times of blessing and times of pain you remain the same, towards me. You are good and love me and my hope is in you.
Blessings
Day 2
Reading: Job 1:21 “He said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” NASB
Thought: Job reminded himself that all he has is from God; all things are a blessing from God, existence itself is a blessing. It is so easy to forget during times of great blessing that it is all a blessing; health is a blessing, food, friends, all we have. “The LORD gives and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” Gratitude for all the blessings in life however small, and a heart that worships God at all times is a true hallmark of one who recognises the goodness of God.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for your goodness and love towards me, thank you for the air we breathe, the food we eat and life you gave me. Open my eyes to the goodness you have blessed me with and help me to worship you at all times.
Discipline
Day 3
Reading: Job 5:17-18 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For He wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal.” NIV
Thought: When I was a child I did not appreciate being told off, disciplined or corrected. I remember those days but see them differently now. At the time I had no idea of the good my parents were instilling in me, the correction was a blessing, at the time it certainly didn’t feel like it! I still remember those feelings, but now I understand how necessary it was. God is like a good father, as children often we despised good discipline, but we should not. Just like a good father who corrects us because He will bring about a greater good, Gods discipline is in our own best interests and the Father is there to heal and bind us up afterwards.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to understand your discipline, correction and rebuke; though it may hurt, it is like the blessing of a good and loving Father. Thank you that you will be there throughout and eventually bring your healing with love and grace.
Arbiter
Day 4
Reading: Job 9:32-33 “For He is not a man, as I am, that I might answer Him, that we should come to trial together. There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.” ESV
Thought: Many people think of God as if He were a list of statements, categories or attributes. God is good, God is just, God is holy, God is merciful, God is almighty, God is all knowing etc. However ultimately this does not satisfy the human desire to know God, nor does it provide much comfort to the one going through pain and suffering. The heart’s cry in suffering is a personal, “Who are you God?” and “Where are you God?” The need for connection to be bridged between man and God then is one of arbitration, one who would bring the two together knowing them both. Written over a thousand years before Jesus, what Job did not know is that he is crying out for Jesus, He is that arbiter. Jesus is the personal answer to the ‘who?’ and an ever present answer to the ‘where?’
Prayer: Lord help me to see you and know you more. Help me to focus on Jesus in the midst of all the things life throws at me. May my heart be settled by knowing who you are and that you are right here with us in the midst of it all.
Hope
Day 5
Reading: Job 19:25 “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth.” ESV
Thought: In the midst of suffering, hope is what sustains. I have seen people endure remarkable pain and suffering because they had hope. Hope is the light at the end of the dark tunnels of our lives. What remarkable prophetic words! Jesus is our hope; God has saved us, will heal us, is living and active and has stood upon the earth. Jesus is our redeemer and our destiny, the Redeemer has come and joined with us in our suffering and the Redeemer will come again to remove all suffering and restore us into the presence of God and the blessing of heaven.
Prayer: Father God thank you for Jesus; my hope in times of trouble, my joy in the pain, my Comforter and my Redeemer. I know I will endure because my Redeemer lives.
Nostalgia
Day 6
Reading: Job 29:2-4 “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, when His lamp shone on my head and by His light I walked through darkness! Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,”
Thought: Sometimes we look fondly on the past, longing for the way things used to be. Perhaps we are trying to rekindle those times or make things as they were, perhaps we are trying to deny the present and live in the fantasy of better days gone by. But these are not those times, and today is not yesterday. It is naïve to think God has changed, that somehow God is not near or indeed that God is no longer our friend when times are not as easy. We would be wise not to dwell on the past as if it has been wrongfully taken from us, clinging onto what we have lost. We cannot live there; you cannot eat food you do not have anymore. This is not saying that we must forget the past, amnesia is far worse than nostalgia! The past can teach us wisdom and there are many lessons to learn from experience, but we must still accept and live in our ‘today’. We must not neglect looking positively to the future however much we long for the past. You cannot live off what you’ve lose, You have so much and you must choose. Please understand your joy is the cost, Because you will not live long From what you have lost.
Prayer: Father guide me; take the character you have forged from my yesterdays into the fields of today so that I may bear your fruit in my tomorrows.
See
Day 7
Reading: Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” NASB
Thought: This is the confession of every person who truly meets God. It is a moment of revelation where the eye sees God for who He is. The only response is the recognition of who we are, a retraction of the accusations against God and the naïve defence of our own goodness, leading to a repentance for our unrighteousness. Seeing God for who He is, is like the end of a mystery book where the last chapter ties all the parts together and suddenly we see everyone for who they truly are. The revelation of God results in repentance. Is there anything you need to repent of today? Do you need to “see” God for who He is over that area of your life? Prayer: Jesus help me to see you more clearly and to know you more every day.