KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Chapters: Job 28-31
Message: Be Not Wise In Thine Own Eyes
Hello My Friend,
Wisdom, we crave to know things, but let me tell you, there are some things we were never meant to know, but now that we do there is no turning back. When Eve grabbed a piece of fruit off the forbidden tree she looked at it for a while, contemplating if she should follow her instincts and take a bite. Having it in her possession was not the sin, it was her decision to take the bite. Why did she take a bite in the first place? She saw that it would make her wise. Oh, and boy did it make her wise, she learned quickly that she just made the biggest mistake of her life. The same goes for Adam, perhaps if he stuck to his guns and did not succumb to the influence of his dear, precious, and beautiful wife, we would not be in the state we are in today. God was never trying to keep Adam and Eve from knowing things, He was trying to keep them from evil. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” – Proverbs 3:5-7.
Wisdom; human learning. We cannot know things until we first learn them, which is why we need teachers, and our first teachers ought to be our parents or guardians. As Job hears his friends and as he tries to figure out why he is going through so much pain, he wonders where wisdom even comes from.
“Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” – Job 28:20-28.
“the fear of the Lord,” This is exactly what Solomon said. Of all the treasures in the world, pure wisdom is by far the most precious, and the greatest wisdom of all comes as we fear God. Think about it, God designed every single thing, think about the weight of the water, how we react to the water, how our bodies can sink to the bottom, yet the heaviest ship can float on the top? Of course, we learn that we can swim and float to the top, but to truly know the properties of the water, that is only wisdom that God has. We cannot explain everything, but God does give us enough wisdom to know that when we respect and acknowledge Him we will not get struck by the lightning that life strikes us with. “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.” – Proverbs 2:5-7.
Wisdom; Natural instinct. When we are going through difficulties our natural instinct is to first find the quickest solution to the problem, then seek God’s help. When God’s help seems to never come, or we are too impatient to wait for it, we tend to get depressed and feel hopeless. So, here is Job, sad, confused, reminiscing about the days God blessed him, wishing things were like they use to be. “Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle; When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!” – Job 29:2-7.
“as in the days when God preserved me;” There is no better feeling than knowing that you are in the presence of God, but when it seems He is no where to be found despair kicks in. We must understand, that unless we are living some wicked life appearing to be a Christian, God is always with us. Why He allows the suffering and why He lets it go as long as He does is a mystery, but He has a purpose and reason behind everything, and if we trust Him He will see us through, and that is what it is really about, trusting Him. “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” – I Peter 4:14-16.
Wisdom; Profitable words or doctrine. The longer we are afflicted the harder it is for us to see God, we tend to search for the right words or answers to no avail. At this point, Job feels like God has left him and basically fed him to the wolves, he wonders why He just does not take him away from it all.
“Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me. Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper. They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me. Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud. And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.” – Job 30:11-16,25-26.
“And now my soul is poured out upon me;” The longer I am afflicted the more I start to feel like there is no end to it, and also wonder why God will not end it. You know, God is not being cruel when He allows us to be afflicted, He does it to prove our faith. God knows what we can handle, and if we endure the suffering He will bless us through it. We must understand that God does not afflict us, the devil does, but God allows him to and will make a way for us to endure it. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” – I Corinthians 10:13.
Wisdom; true religion; godliness. Another thing happens the longer we are afflicted, we start wondering if we really the Christians we are supposed to be. Job starts to question himself, was there something he did that he was not aware of. “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure. If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much; If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.” – Job 31:1-2,23-28.
“I made a covenant with mine eyes;” Job is asking God if he was more concerned with taking care of his flesh than about the welfare of others. In our own wisdom we are concerned with our own needs first, but with God’s wisdom others come first, then God takes care of our needs. Unless we are conceded, arrogant, and completely self centered we are concerned for the welfare of others before we take care of ourselves. I am often guilty of replaying my life and trying to figure out why God is angry, what did I do in my past that I need to seek forgiveness from so He starts to bless me again. The truth is, God never stops blessing us, if we are saved, we are His forever, preserved with eternal life and nothing can change that. When God appears to be no where that is when He is preparing us from something great. The blessings through this are just a prayer, hope, and walk away, and all we have to do to see them is keep looking to Him by faith and not give up. “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” – I Peter 1:7.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword. They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.” – Job 30:9-10.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for the life that You have given me and the path You chose for me. I do not always understand the path I take, but I do know that You are with me. I admit I mess up and make some wrong decisions because I just do not understand or are too impatient to wait for You to show me the correct way to do things, I am sorry for going over Your head, and not waiting for You. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me the strength I need to endure the affliction You allow in my life, let me not look to the right or left, but straight toward You. I know that as long as I do that You will always lead down the path I need to be on. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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