KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, January 09, 2017
Chapters: Job 20-23
Message: Jumping To Conclusions
Hello My Friend,
Last week I was having a pretty bad week with my health, I was not ill to where I was incapable of getting out of bed, but I was feeling bad enough that I was unable to keep my schedule on track, which is why I am late getting the messages out the last couple of days. Every time I go through these symptoms that are not life threatening, but just a part of aging, I find myself playing out everything I did the past month, wondering if I did something to anger God that He decided to make me suffer a little more. God reminded me last night that He was in charge of me, not everything I go through is a result of sin, sometimes it is because it is a part of life, and that He just wants me to talk to Him more. How often are we asking God, “Now what did I do?”, when we ought to be saying, “Thank You God, what can I do for you?”. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7.
“shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” What an understatement? Keep your heart and mind right, that is God’s sole purpose for wanting us to talk to Him more. When we are facing any kind of affliction we tend to get in constructive mode, to search for ways to fix the problem and make it go away quickly. I always think that my health issues can be resolved with food or water, when most of the time it has nothing to do with that. When we get into constructive mode that is actually when more problems occur, as we are reading the Book of Job, one thing has come to mind, the more Job spoke out, trying to justify himself, the more his friends spoke against him. Zophar speaks out again, with some rather harsh words.
“Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste. I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer. Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?” – Job 20:2-7.
“Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer,” This is why we can never leave anything up to our own human understanding, God ways, although straight forward, are not our ways, so we can never assume that the things we go through have anything to do with us. Look at the world, just last week a man rips through an airport, killing eight people, and while the liberals, who try to say they care about life, cry for more gun control, we who are faithful to Christ are stuck in the middle of it all. Our thoughts, if not directed by the Holy Spirit never lead to anything good. “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” – Proverbs 18:13.
Sitting in church last night, the pastor made a comment about wondering why those who are faithful struggle to make ends meet, while the wicked, and even some Christians who are not faithful, seem to be more blessed. Job asks a similar question, “Why do the wicked do prosper, and never seem to have anything bad happen to them? Job also reminds himself of what will happen to those who choose the riches of the world over God.
“Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.” – Job 21:7-9,13-15,29-30.
“That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction?” You see, it does not matter what time we were here on earth, every faithful man, woman, and child of God knows that they will stand before God and anyone not saved will be destroyed. Eliphaz speaks again, telling him if he just repents God will turn everything around.
“Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.” – Job 22:5-8,21-23.
“Acquaint now thyself with him,” Again, suggesting that Job does not know God, Eliphaz pleads with Job to repent, admit his sin, return to God, and He will turn everything around. It is true that God will put away our sins the second we confess them, but we face affliction until we leave the earth, and if they do not know God it gets much worse. “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;” – II Peter 2:2-4.
I love the song, “Forever Settled”, I could listen to this song on repeat for hours, one of the verses says, “If that old prosecutor raised the question again, my Lawyer would rise up and approach the bench and say, Good Morning Father, He’d reassure me right then that it’s Forever Settled in heaven, Amen!” Job may not have known what the purpose was that he was going through so much pain, and he could not see God, he attests that if he had to stand before Him he would be justified.
“Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning. Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” – Job 23:2-4,8-12.
“But he knoweth the way that I take:” We were practicing a song in choir last night, one that got me thinking, when I stand before Jesus, will God say that He saw His Son in me? Even the pastor’s wife made a comment similar to what I was thinking. Any humble servant will wonder if the life they are living will ever come close to reflecting Jesus, but God does know the way that we take, and while it may not be perfect, it is one that leads to eternal life. We do not have to be one hundred percent perfect because we have the perfect one in us and to God, He is all we need. While our actions ought to reflect the Son because they are what bring others to Him, it is not our works that determine our salvation, it is our faith in the One who did all the work for us. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:8-10.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” – Job 23:12. Jesus never let the temptations of the devil distract Him from doing God’s work, often relying on Scripture to feed Him.
Today’s Prayer: God, When I am dealing with life and cannot understand the purpose of Your will, not a moment goes by that I do not feel sorrow when I complain to You about my problem only to realize that it had nothing to do with me, other than my jumping to some conclusion that it did. You know the way that I take, and while I am not always in Your will, and know I mess up a lot, I am always faithful to You, I keep going, even when I want to give up, and that I know is only by the power of Christ in me. Thank You for loving me and never giving up on me, and for always directing me, I do not even want to know where I would be if You were not. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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This study just ties together so much what I’ve been reading about prayer and trust, and God’s ways/God’s words. I have to come back and read it more. Thanks!
I am glad that it was of help to you. Thank you, and God bless you.