"Love One Another"
When I was in my late teens in high school I remember a time when I was doing some things around my friends that I knew my father wouldn't have approved of and some of that was even just being associated with people who did things mischievous. I didn't really think it was all that bad, but I realized something really important my senior year around graduation time. I realized that I couldn't communicate very well with my father! I had been doing my own things, making choices that were not according to what he had told my brothers and I to do. I wasn't living by his direction and teachings that we had been taught for the ten years prior to this time.
It was time for me to seek wisdom and experience from my father because I needed it! I was going into a new phase of life! Not only did I need advice; I needed things to get started on my own. I was leaving for college in the fall and there were allot of things to get and decisions to make.
Well, guess what happened? I tried to do it on my own! I decided that I would just get it all done myself and I didn't need my fathers help! Why did I feel that way? That brings me to my point! I felt that I would do it on my own because I didn't want to admit that I had done anything wrong or against my fathers will. I didn't want to face my father because I knew that he wasn't pleased with my choices; though he gave me enough independence to make them.
I knew that my father was not going to be able to bless me if I wasn't following his guidelines. I was too ashamed of some of the mistakes I had made to face him.
If you have kids, you know exactly what I am saying; but I'm not talking about the kids today. I'm talking about us adults who need things right now! I'm talking about grown ups who need guidance to get through this day!
We have a heavenly Father, you know? Are the communication lines open between you and our Lord today? I have to admit things to Him every day it seems. There isn't a day that I don't make some kind of mistake and I have to tell him I didn't mean to do whatever I did.
"I wish I hadn't done that Father!"
"I want to do better next time Father!"
"Help me to learn how not to make this mistake again Father!"
Let's look at a passage today that tells us what we need to do and why in order to receive the things we need from our Father in heaven and not only that, but to be in Him and His Spirit to dwell in us.
It's called relationship! We will be able to relate to each other like never before when we do what this passage says! God is all about relationship as He tells us that we will become brothers of Jesus and become His child when we accept Him!
Let's read,
1John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Are we doing those things that are pleasing in His sight?
Do we truly believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ?
Do we really love one another as he commanded us to?
If so, we dwell in Him and He in us!
We know it by the Spirit that He gave us.
How's your Spirit today? Do you know that God is there? Can you come to our Father and ask for your needs to be met or for guidance and support today? If you feel like you cannot face Him, don't let your heart condemn you! Come to Him and admit your mistakes; he already knows about it! He just wants to hear it from you and He wants you to regain your confidence so that you will come to Him and He can give you what you need!
1John 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
1Jn 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
I have a twenty year old daughter that is going through this right now. I want to share with her all that I have learned and I want to be a part of her life right now!
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't grieve over the fact that she is trying to tough it out on her own! I long to commune with her and guide her and help her with her needs! I want to have our father / daughter relationship back so bad! I have found that the only thing I can really do as a Father is to let her know that I love her and to wait patiently for her to come back, ready with a desire to do the same. Right now her heart has condemned her but it shouldn't because the love of God is much greater than her heart and God knows all things.
I talk with my Lord every time I think of her. I know one day God will bring her back into communion with Himself and that is when she will be open to communication with me and ready to accept the guidance and love I offer her.
Let's pray,
Our Father, I come to you today with confidence that you love me; that you dwell in my spirit and that I am welcome to your guidance and infinite blessings. You are an infinite God! Your grace and mercy is more than I could ever deserve, but you loved us first before we ever existed on this earth. I ask you Lord to protect me from evil; to keep me from temptations that would try to come between us and break down the communication that I want to have with you. I need your help and your guidance so I ask for this and for the Holy Spirit to empower my life and all those that I am able to help today in love as you have commanded me to do. Amen.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
"Purpose Matters!"
"Purpose & Dusty Tools"
Have you ever went looking for a tool you knew you had and just wasn't quite sure where it was? It had been so long since you last use it that it was covered in dust when you found it laying up on the top shelf of your storage building, maybe?
I was once helping someone scrape the walls in her basement and putting a water resistant coating on the brick to keep out the water. As I was moving things around to get to the walls in her laundry area of the basement I came across some things that looked to be as much as 50 years old. You know, the kind of things we all tend to hold onto. Things that hold memories from the past. Things that cause you to smile or chuckle without a word spoken.
As I was moving all these odds and ends I found myself tangled up in a conglomeration of spider webs that seemed to be attached to every single thing that I picked up!
I'm not sure if I had disrupted the spider playground but it sure seemed that way by the time I was finished moving the things against this wall!
I had those cobwebs all over my arms, face and hair! When I finally pulled the last shelf away from the wall, there lay a couple of tools on the concrete floor hidden away from view. They were maybe 30 or 40 years old, but still in very good shape. They didn't appear to have been used much at all! It's possible they were only used once or twice before being stuck away, hidden from view.
I picked them up carefully and thought, "What a waste"; as I brushed the dust off of the "Black & Decker Sander, model #7404-Type 1" and the "Stanley hand miter box" still in perfect condition. But there were some other tools that had been well used; well cared for, but it was obvious to see that they had many hours of usage just by the appearance of them. There was also another "Finish Sander-Polisher from Sears, Roebuck & Co., Model 110.2742"; a "Master Craft Saber Saw, Model 510" and a "Home Utility Black & Decker 1/2" Drill "that may have been one of the first drills they ever produced. It didn't even have a model number on it!
One thing that I knew though was that these tools had to of been used for the very purpose that they were designed and built for. They were not abused or missing parts. They were worn and showed evidence of many hours spent in the hands of the craftsman. I had learned that they were used by a man many years earlier for building furniture that now filled almost every room of this house. He had the tools and they were used wisely to create the masterpieces that would be appreciated and treasured by others for generations to come.
Were the tools that were put to their full use worth more than the ones that were rarely ever used? No, they were just as useful and valuable as the other tools, but they were left under the shelf and forgotten so they didn't get used to create much at all.
God has given each of us a purpose and something that only we can accomplish in this life. Have we stayed in the open where we can be used wisely by our God or have we become lost behind the shelf and find ourselves rarely used for the purpose that we were designed for?
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Have we become surrounded by the cobwebs of life? Those other activities and things that keep us so distracted that it is impossible to be used by God!
Now I'm going to get a bit more personal here but I just want you to think about it. Do you find yourself bored to death if you don't have a tv remote control, wii remote, computer, mp3 player, ipod or a texting device in your hands at all times? Is it possible that Satan has us so distracted in this modern age of technology that we are like the tools that were covered by the spider webs and dust but never were used? Do you want to look back on YOUR life one day and see that you served your purpose for God on earth? Just remember that the only time we really have is NOW! We are not guaranteed a tomorrow. If you or your children have been distracted from your purpose, begin today by cleaning out the cobwebs in your life. I know it's no fun to do that! I didn't like it either! They got all in my hair and all over my arms!
I like an exercise called thinking from the end. You go to the end of your life and imagine what you want it to be like. If you could have it any way you want to, how would it be? What would your family say or remember about you? What would you have done with your life? Don't put any limits an what you would do or what people would say! Once you have done this, think about how many years you expect to live. Now start from the end of your life having accomplished whatever your hearts desire was to have completed and begin to come back in time writing down what you will have to do every five years until you are back to where you are today.
It is amazing, but you will find that not only do you have time to do it, but you can envision the resources that you will need to accomplish this plan. It also helps you to find the reason for being and set your priorities in your life. I believe God speaks to us when we open our minds up to whatever God lays on our hearts!
The last thing you will need to do in clearing out those cobwebs is to push aside your ego. Your ego is everything that people told you that you could or couldn't accomplish while you were growing up; the way that you see yourself based on past successes and failures and your attempt to be the person that others want you to be. If you can, imagine pushing all of this to the side with one arm to the point that you can no longer see it. Once you have done this, I want you to say something to your creator and Lord! Simply trust in your Creator enough to say," From this point forward I am going to say "yes" when you choose to use me for my life purpose. I am going to say "yes" when the door opens in front of me, trusting that You are looking ahead for me and You are opening and closing the doors ahead of me! I will not doubt you Lord! I will not allow my life to be found one day left under the shelf covered with dust and never used for it's real purpose!"
"I choose to say "yes" when the door opens before me and I know when I start saying "yes" to my Father, that my Father will begin to say "yes" to me also!"
Your life will begin to show signs and wonders of the wise Master's hand at work in your life! You will be surprised at what your heavenly Father has already put into place and he people he has ready to be apart to the masterpiece that will be possible when all of the tools are available. You are one of the tools that are needed to create the masterpiece! Will you start saying "yes" to Him today?
That we might be able to say as Paul did in Phillipians, chapter three and verse thirteen,
Phillipians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Let's pray,
Our Lord and Savior, we come to you today, a tool of your hands to be used for the very purpose that you have chosen for our lives. We trust you Father to open only the doors that you have chosen before us from this day forward! I will watch for your hand at work through the Spirit of God in my life. I thank you now for the things that you are about to do in my life. Amen.
Have you ever went looking for a tool you knew you had and just wasn't quite sure where it was? It had been so long since you last use it that it was covered in dust when you found it laying up on the top shelf of your storage building, maybe?
I was once helping someone scrape the walls in her basement and putting a water resistant coating on the brick to keep out the water. As I was moving things around to get to the walls in her laundry area of the basement I came across some things that looked to be as much as 50 years old. You know, the kind of things we all tend to hold onto. Things that hold memories from the past. Things that cause you to smile or chuckle without a word spoken.
As I was moving all these odds and ends I found myself tangled up in a conglomeration of spider webs that seemed to be attached to every single thing that I picked up!
I'm not sure if I had disrupted the spider playground but it sure seemed that way by the time I was finished moving the things against this wall!
I had those cobwebs all over my arms, face and hair! When I finally pulled the last shelf away from the wall, there lay a couple of tools on the concrete floor hidden away from view. They were maybe 30 or 40 years old, but still in very good shape. They didn't appear to have been used much at all! It's possible they were only used once or twice before being stuck away, hidden from view.
I picked them up carefully and thought, "What a waste"; as I brushed the dust off of the "Black & Decker Sander, model #7404-Type 1" and the "Stanley hand miter box" still in perfect condition. But there were some other tools that had been well used; well cared for, but it was obvious to see that they had many hours of usage just by the appearance of them. There was also another "Finish Sander-Polisher from Sears, Roebuck & Co., Model 110.2742"; a "Master Craft Saber Saw, Model 510" and a "Home Utility Black & Decker 1/2" Drill "that may have been one of the first drills they ever produced. It didn't even have a model number on it!
One thing that I knew though was that these tools had to of been used for the very purpose that they were designed and built for. They were not abused or missing parts. They were worn and showed evidence of many hours spent in the hands of the craftsman. I had learned that they were used by a man many years earlier for building furniture that now filled almost every room of this house. He had the tools and they were used wisely to create the masterpieces that would be appreciated and treasured by others for generations to come.
Were the tools that were put to their full use worth more than the ones that were rarely ever used? No, they were just as useful and valuable as the other tools, but they were left under the shelf and forgotten so they didn't get used to create much at all.
God has given each of us a purpose and something that only we can accomplish in this life. Have we stayed in the open where we can be used wisely by our God or have we become lost behind the shelf and find ourselves rarely used for the purpose that we were designed for?
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Have we become surrounded by the cobwebs of life? Those other activities and things that keep us so distracted that it is impossible to be used by God!
Now I'm going to get a bit more personal here but I just want you to think about it. Do you find yourself bored to death if you don't have a tv remote control, wii remote, computer, mp3 player, ipod or a texting device in your hands at all times? Is it possible that Satan has us so distracted in this modern age of technology that we are like the tools that were covered by the spider webs and dust but never were used? Do you want to look back on YOUR life one day and see that you served your purpose for God on earth? Just remember that the only time we really have is NOW! We are not guaranteed a tomorrow. If you or your children have been distracted from your purpose, begin today by cleaning out the cobwebs in your life. I know it's no fun to do that! I didn't like it either! They got all in my hair and all over my arms!
I like an exercise called thinking from the end. You go to the end of your life and imagine what you want it to be like. If you could have it any way you want to, how would it be? What would your family say or remember about you? What would you have done with your life? Don't put any limits an what you would do or what people would say! Once you have done this, think about how many years you expect to live. Now start from the end of your life having accomplished whatever your hearts desire was to have completed and begin to come back in time writing down what you will have to do every five years until you are back to where you are today.
It is amazing, but you will find that not only do you have time to do it, but you can envision the resources that you will need to accomplish this plan. It also helps you to find the reason for being and set your priorities in your life. I believe God speaks to us when we open our minds up to whatever God lays on our hearts!
The last thing you will need to do in clearing out those cobwebs is to push aside your ego. Your ego is everything that people told you that you could or couldn't accomplish while you were growing up; the way that you see yourself based on past successes and failures and your attempt to be the person that others want you to be. If you can, imagine pushing all of this to the side with one arm to the point that you can no longer see it. Once you have done this, I want you to say something to your creator and Lord! Simply trust in your Creator enough to say," From this point forward I am going to say "yes" when you choose to use me for my life purpose. I am going to say "yes" when the door opens in front of me, trusting that You are looking ahead for me and You are opening and closing the doors ahead of me! I will not doubt you Lord! I will not allow my life to be found one day left under the shelf covered with dust and never used for it's real purpose!"
"I choose to say "yes" when the door opens before me and I know when I start saying "yes" to my Father, that my Father will begin to say "yes" to me also!"
Your life will begin to show signs and wonders of the wise Master's hand at work in your life! You will be surprised at what your heavenly Father has already put into place and he people he has ready to be apart to the masterpiece that will be possible when all of the tools are available. You are one of the tools that are needed to create the masterpiece! Will you start saying "yes" to Him today?
That we might be able to say as Paul did in Phillipians, chapter three and verse thirteen,
Phillipians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Let's pray,
Our Lord and Savior, we come to you today, a tool of your hands to be used for the very purpose that you have chosen for our lives. We trust you Father to open only the doors that you have chosen before us from this day forward! I will watch for your hand at work through the Spirit of God in my life. I thank you now for the things that you are about to do in my life. Amen.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
"About Family, Trust and Friendships"
This video is from the time of Hitler's rule and has scenes of Jews being captured and punished by the Nazi solders but it has allot of stimulating dialogue that helps us all to see the truth of what it must have been like to be on both sides of the fence. There is not real graphic violence and I felt comfortable with my twelve year old watching with me. There is no foul language or indecency at all. Enjoy.
Click on the link below to see clips of this touching movie.Come back and join us for our posting for today, "Who Can You Trust?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5FU-yDC-uI
This video is from the time of Hitler's rule and has scenes of Jews being captured and punished by the Nazi solders but it has allot of stimulating dialogue that helps us all to see the truth of what it must have been like to be on both sides of the fence. There is not real graphic violence and I felt comfortable with my twelve year old watching with me. There is no foul language or indecency at all. Enjoy.
Click on the link below to see clips of this touching movie.Come back and join us for our posting for today, "Who Can You Trust?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5FU-yDC-uI
"Who Can You Trust?"
"Trust in the Lord"
For as long as I can remember, the phrase, "trust in the Lord" has been used in sermons, Sunday school lessons, devotions and all types of counseling.
But what does it really mean? Why do we trust in someone else in the first place?
Let's think about the foundation that trust is built on and why. I want us to take a minute and think about all of our friends, families, religious associates, co-workers and teachers. I want us to pause for a moment and think about the people that we trust.
If I understand trust, it won't take me very long to know exactly who I trust out of all of the people I know! There are maybe one or two people in each of our lives that we feel safe enough with to share any of our deepest concerns with. Why are there only one, two, maybe a few out of so many people? Why don't we trust more people with our lives?
Well, this answer depends allot more on the actions of people we know than on our own decision to trust. The people we have met throughout life are always effecting the way that we feel about them but there are some people that stick closer than your own brother or sister. Why is that?
What makes it stick?
The first thing I see, is that they look out for your best interest! No matter how hard it may be for you to accept, when you ask for advice, they will tell you what is going to help you the most! I have known people who purposefully told me things to discourage me from doing something and it was so obvious that they had ulterior motives. For example, they may have been jealous that I would succeed at something! That's when I lost my trust in that person. Another example would be, my car was broke down or if I missed the last bus home and I called someone and they told me they were just getting home and were sorry, they couldn't help right now, I would get the message that I better not try calling that person the next time I'm broke down or was desperate for help! Do you get the idea that I'm trying to demonstrate here? If not, call me next time you need help and I'll give you a live demonstration!!!
No! Not really! Just kidding!
I needed to add some humor or you might start dozing on me when we're on such serious topics as this!
What is the next thing that builds our trust in a person we know? I would say it is honesty! When we are told by one of our friends that we need to improve in an area of our lives, is that honesty? When we feel that someone has done us wrong and our friend helps us see where we could have prevented that from happening, is that honesty?
Is honesty always a wonderful experience? Obviously not, but it is for our good when it comes from someone who cares and that is the next thing I want to point out.
People who are honest with us care about the outcome. We care about our best friends!
Caring isn't something everyone is going to feel for everyone all the time!
I believe that we care about the things that are most important to us and we decide throughout our lives what those things are. We as humans are limited as to how many people we can possibly care about. We may have compassion on all the suffering but can we really care for each of them? I think not.
I learned something in 1990 while reading a book called, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". One of the things that really stuck in my mind was that we have a circle of influence in our lives but the circle that we live in is much larger!
If you can envision a circle or even draw it on a piece of paper; a circle that is about three inches wide. This represents the circle that holds everything about our lives; all the trips, places and people we meet. Then inside this circle; draw another circle about one inch wide. This circle represents our circle of influence. This circle is full of activities, people and places that we are actually able to make a difference in. These are the people places and things that we can influence in some way throughout our lives!
What I learned was that we often spend as much time or more outside of this circle trying to make friends or trying to improve things. If I realized that there are only going to be so many people and only so many things that I will be able to influence, then I would become much more effective by spending more of my time in my circle of influence.
It might take a little while but let it soak in and see if it makes sense to you. I encourage you to try being more conscientious of your activities and see which circle you find yourself spending most of your time in!
I needed to inject that experience because it has allot to do with trust and the choices we make. When you are with someone that you could trust with your life or the life of your children, do you get tense or nervous about how things are going to turn out? Of course not; you feel safer and more confident that what you are going through is going to eventually work out. You feel good!
Everyone wants to feel good! Right?
I'd like to make one more important point about this matter of trust. The people we trust are not people that we just met yesterday! Trust develops over time, right? It takes about a year to really get to the point that you feel like you really understand someone and know what is important to them. Think about the years spent in high school and college and remember how the school year was coming to an end and all of a sudden you saw the friendships begin to blossom and the ones who had become friends suddenly realized that they really liked being together every day and some even cried. We are talking girls here! I think that us guys became good friends but the girls had us hands down when it came to real trust and relationships. Still, guys would develop the friendships that caused them to call and invite each other to go play ball or double up on dates and such. Then the next year, we would all pick up where we had left off in our growing friendships and each year it grew.
But, what was it that was really growing? Was it just a good feeling or allot of memories that constantly played over and over in our minds? I don't recall any of those kind of things going on then, but I do remember the times when we had serious talks about things like new and old girlfriends; those unfair teachers; our old fashioned parents and the ideas we had about religion and God. I remember when my best friend stood up for me once because I was a pretty small stature guy in those days.
What was it that was growing from year to year? The thing that we all need to survive in this world; something that the world is built on from the beginning of creation when Adam was placed in the garden by God. It was the link that connects the best of friends and never let's go! We were searching for the ones we could trust and growing that trust day by day; building trust year after year. So time affects the people we put our trust into. Yes, time is the one thing we cannot rush. As humans we are given a span of time to be here together and we must use that time to build relationships and trust.
You might be wondering why I haven't quoted many scriptures as I always do. The reason is because this lesson is about us all and the importance of how we see and understand trusting each other. Now I want to take trust to the next level!
If we build trust based on good advice, confidence, honesty, good feelings, conversations and time; how can we apply this to our relationship in God?
Remember? I said that I had heard this all my life, "trust in the Lord".
Well, I was thinking about how I had found the most help from the Bible when I was going through the most difficult times of my life and I thought about the counseling we share with those we trust. Then I thought about how my Lord promises me a Comforter who will always be there for me and that Comforter brought joy into my heart while I was going through troubles in my marriage; while raising my teenager; while battling through life threatening sickness; when laid off from a very secure job; and even when the one I trusted pierced my heart through. My Lord will never leave me; nor forsake me.
Hebrew 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Hebrew 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Then I thought about how, I knew I could talk to my Lord about any problem, decision, mistake or feeling I was going through.
He always listened and He always cared enough to look past my mistakes and see my potential!
Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Lastly, I thought about the matter of time and I thought about how I had not known my Lord for very long when I was young and how could I have trusted in a God that I had just begun to know? Maybe you have just recently come to know your Lord and wonder the same thing too!
Then it hit me! I remembered that the Word of God says that our Lord God Almighty chose us before the foundation of the world existed!
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
That is a trust has stood the test of time even before we existed!
You may be thinking, "How could He have done this?" How? Because He is our infinite creator; our reason for existing and the reason we can trust others in our lives today.
He is the foundation that trust is built on. If we do not trust God then who can we trust?
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
I want to share with you a quote found in Wayne Dyers book, "The Power of Intention". Wayne brings to our attention that we find teaching in the Word of God that leads us to trust in God because our God is good. He also brings out the fact that everyone wants to feel good! So, if God is the ultimate example of good for us ; what we really long for is to feel God! Wayne Dyer says in his book, "You want to feel good? Then feel God!"
What does that mean?
Let's look at Ephesians in chapter one,
Ephesians 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
I ask you, "Do you feel God in your life today? Have you accepted His grace and believed, as it says in verse nineteen above?"
Do you trust Him in any situation you might have?
If so, then you CAN feel the Confidence; the Protection; the Friendship and the Care that it feels like to be with someone that you really trust!
Lets pray,
My Jehovah Shammah, I know that you are always there in times when I need your companionship, your confidence and your care! I depend on you, as my trust grows each day and I know that you are glorified when I call on your name each day! I know that we were made for your glory Lord and that you want the best for us even when it isn't easy for us to accept the truth. Sometimes I try to take the easy way around and you bring me back into line so that I will gain the most from the experience. I thank you for this! It is my confidence in your promises that helps with my trust in you Lord. I will believe that your powerful and infinite spirit is dwelling in me and will go before me and behind me today no matter what I am experiencing because I trust in You, because you are always there! Amen.
Names of God
JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH: "The Lord is There" (Ezek. 48:35).
For as long as I can remember, the phrase, "trust in the Lord" has been used in sermons, Sunday school lessons, devotions and all types of counseling.
But what does it really mean? Why do we trust in someone else in the first place?
Let's think about the foundation that trust is built on and why. I want us to take a minute and think about all of our friends, families, religious associates, co-workers and teachers. I want us to pause for a moment and think about the people that we trust.
If I understand trust, it won't take me very long to know exactly who I trust out of all of the people I know! There are maybe one or two people in each of our lives that we feel safe enough with to share any of our deepest concerns with. Why are there only one, two, maybe a few out of so many people? Why don't we trust more people with our lives?
Well, this answer depends allot more on the actions of people we know than on our own decision to trust. The people we have met throughout life are always effecting the way that we feel about them but there are some people that stick closer than your own brother or sister. Why is that?
What makes it stick?
The first thing I see, is that they look out for your best interest! No matter how hard it may be for you to accept, when you ask for advice, they will tell you what is going to help you the most! I have known people who purposefully told me things to discourage me from doing something and it was so obvious that they had ulterior motives. For example, they may have been jealous that I would succeed at something! That's when I lost my trust in that person. Another example would be, my car was broke down or if I missed the last bus home and I called someone and they told me they were just getting home and were sorry, they couldn't help right now, I would get the message that I better not try calling that person the next time I'm broke down or was desperate for help! Do you get the idea that I'm trying to demonstrate here? If not, call me next time you need help and I'll give you a live demonstration!!!
No! Not really! Just kidding!
I needed to add some humor or you might start dozing on me when we're on such serious topics as this!
What is the next thing that builds our trust in a person we know? I would say it is honesty! When we are told by one of our friends that we need to improve in an area of our lives, is that honesty? When we feel that someone has done us wrong and our friend helps us see where we could have prevented that from happening, is that honesty?
Is honesty always a wonderful experience? Obviously not, but it is for our good when it comes from someone who cares and that is the next thing I want to point out.
People who are honest with us care about the outcome. We care about our best friends!
Caring isn't something everyone is going to feel for everyone all the time!
I believe that we care about the things that are most important to us and we decide throughout our lives what those things are. We as humans are limited as to how many people we can possibly care about. We may have compassion on all the suffering but can we really care for each of them? I think not.
I learned something in 1990 while reading a book called, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". One of the things that really stuck in my mind was that we have a circle of influence in our lives but the circle that we live in is much larger!
If you can envision a circle or even draw it on a piece of paper; a circle that is about three inches wide. This represents the circle that holds everything about our lives; all the trips, places and people we meet. Then inside this circle; draw another circle about one inch wide. This circle represents our circle of influence. This circle is full of activities, people and places that we are actually able to make a difference in. These are the people places and things that we can influence in some way throughout our lives!
What I learned was that we often spend as much time or more outside of this circle trying to make friends or trying to improve things. If I realized that there are only going to be so many people and only so many things that I will be able to influence, then I would become much more effective by spending more of my time in my circle of influence.
It might take a little while but let it soak in and see if it makes sense to you. I encourage you to try being more conscientious of your activities and see which circle you find yourself spending most of your time in!
I needed to inject that experience because it has allot to do with trust and the choices we make. When you are with someone that you could trust with your life or the life of your children, do you get tense or nervous about how things are going to turn out? Of course not; you feel safer and more confident that what you are going through is going to eventually work out. You feel good!
Everyone wants to feel good! Right?
I'd like to make one more important point about this matter of trust. The people we trust are not people that we just met yesterday! Trust develops over time, right? It takes about a year to really get to the point that you feel like you really understand someone and know what is important to them. Think about the years spent in high school and college and remember how the school year was coming to an end and all of a sudden you saw the friendships begin to blossom and the ones who had become friends suddenly realized that they really liked being together every day and some even cried. We are talking girls here! I think that us guys became good friends but the girls had us hands down when it came to real trust and relationships. Still, guys would develop the friendships that caused them to call and invite each other to go play ball or double up on dates and such. Then the next year, we would all pick up where we had left off in our growing friendships and each year it grew.
But, what was it that was really growing? Was it just a good feeling or allot of memories that constantly played over and over in our minds? I don't recall any of those kind of things going on then, but I do remember the times when we had serious talks about things like new and old girlfriends; those unfair teachers; our old fashioned parents and the ideas we had about religion and God. I remember when my best friend stood up for me once because I was a pretty small stature guy in those days.
What was it that was growing from year to year? The thing that we all need to survive in this world; something that the world is built on from the beginning of creation when Adam was placed in the garden by God. It was the link that connects the best of friends and never let's go! We were searching for the ones we could trust and growing that trust day by day; building trust year after year. So time affects the people we put our trust into. Yes, time is the one thing we cannot rush. As humans we are given a span of time to be here together and we must use that time to build relationships and trust.
You might be wondering why I haven't quoted many scriptures as I always do. The reason is because this lesson is about us all and the importance of how we see and understand trusting each other. Now I want to take trust to the next level!
If we build trust based on good advice, confidence, honesty, good feelings, conversations and time; how can we apply this to our relationship in God?
Remember? I said that I had heard this all my life, "trust in the Lord".
Well, I was thinking about how I had found the most help from the Bible when I was going through the most difficult times of my life and I thought about the counseling we share with those we trust. Then I thought about how my Lord promises me a Comforter who will always be there for me and that Comforter brought joy into my heart while I was going through troubles in my marriage; while raising my teenager; while battling through life threatening sickness; when laid off from a very secure job; and even when the one I trusted pierced my heart through. My Lord will never leave me; nor forsake me.
Hebrew 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Hebrew 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Then I thought about how, I knew I could talk to my Lord about any problem, decision, mistake or feeling I was going through.
He always listened and He always cared enough to look past my mistakes and see my potential!
Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Lastly, I thought about the matter of time and I thought about how I had not known my Lord for very long when I was young and how could I have trusted in a God that I had just begun to know? Maybe you have just recently come to know your Lord and wonder the same thing too!
Then it hit me! I remembered that the Word of God says that our Lord God Almighty chose us before the foundation of the world existed!
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
That is a trust has stood the test of time even before we existed!
You may be thinking, "How could He have done this?" How? Because He is our infinite creator; our reason for existing and the reason we can trust others in our lives today.
He is the foundation that trust is built on. If we do not trust God then who can we trust?
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
I want to share with you a quote found in Wayne Dyers book, "The Power of Intention". Wayne brings to our attention that we find teaching in the Word of God that leads us to trust in God because our God is good. He also brings out the fact that everyone wants to feel good! So, if God is the ultimate example of good for us ; what we really long for is to feel God! Wayne Dyer says in his book, "You want to feel good? Then feel God!"
What does that mean?
Let's look at Ephesians in chapter one,
Ephesians 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
I ask you, "Do you feel God in your life today? Have you accepted His grace and believed, as it says in verse nineteen above?"
Do you trust Him in any situation you might have?
If so, then you CAN feel the Confidence; the Protection; the Friendship and the Care that it feels like to be with someone that you really trust!
Lets pray,
My Jehovah Shammah, I know that you are always there in times when I need your companionship, your confidence and your care! I depend on you, as my trust grows each day and I know that you are glorified when I call on your name each day! I know that we were made for your glory Lord and that you want the best for us even when it isn't easy for us to accept the truth. Sometimes I try to take the easy way around and you bring me back into line so that I will gain the most from the experience. I thank you for this! It is my confidence in your promises that helps with my trust in you Lord. I will believe that your powerful and infinite spirit is dwelling in me and will go before me and behind me today no matter what I am experiencing because I trust in You, because you are always there! Amen.
Names of God
JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH: "The Lord is There" (Ezek. 48:35).
Friday, June 26, 2009
"Understanding Why Things Happen" - Part 3
"Why Me"- Continued
This post is going to be a little longer but it is necessary to wrap up our study together on "why me" and getting to the answer that I found in the book of Job.
I must finish and get on to the next topic of study so bear with me and get comfortable!
While reading over the final chapters of Job again this morning I realized another interesting fact that just added more mystery to Jobs questioning. In chapter 32 Elihu come forward and begins to speak. He said that he was a young man and was waiting because the older men had more wisdom, as in crafty and experienced according to the Hebrew translation. Then he explains in verse eight that there is a spirit in a man and that it is by the inspiration of the Almighty that he receives understanding. This is the understanding that allows a man to explain to others the wisdom of God!
The next thing Elihu says is this,
Job 32:9 Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
Job 32:10 Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion.
Job 32:11 Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say.
Job 32:12 Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words:
Job 32:13 Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man.
It is directed to Jobs friends and he is saying that they have not come to a conclusion to convince or answer Jobs questions. Then Elihu goes on to say in verse eighteen through twenty that he is about to burst with the message that his spirit is forcing him to give! Have you ever felt that way when you are listening to a conversation and you know that you have the answer or solution to the problem that is being discussed but you are trying to hold your silence because they aren't talking to you? Then somehow you blurt something out that allows you to join in so that you can share your experience or knowledge. If you have been waiting for long, you can get to where you feel as though you were going to burst if you couldn't speak!
In the construction projects that I have participated in managing we would have weekly meetings and during the meetings I would usually address areas that the trades were not keeping up with the schedule. It was an understanding that in our meetings that people were not to speak up unless called on and this kept our meetings in order so that we could finish in about an hours time. Well, I can tell you this for sure, there were certain men and women in those meetings that were always about to burst with things to say! They would squirm and move as if they were going to explode if they couldn't speak up, but I kept them at bay until I had finished the list that I had prepared. After I had gone over everything that I had planned for the meeting and only then would I begin to go around the room and let each person say whatever they needed to say. Every time we would start into this part of the meeting, I would look at the ones that were doing all the squirming and they would seem to begin relaxing a little, just knowing that their time to speak was coming up soon. I would imagine Elihu must have felt that way too. He said he had been waiting but I'm not sure how long. He had been given inspiration by the Almighty but he still had to wait for the right time. Maybe that's a lesson for us to remember when we feel the urge to speak up!
Job 32:18 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constrains me.
Job 32:19 Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.
Job 32:20 I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.
Let's move on to Jobs big question,"why me?" and find out what his answer was!
Elihu reminded Job that he had claimed his innocence and that he had said that God had treated him like a prisoner. Elihu then tells Job that he was not justified in saying this because we cannot argue with God and that God doesn't have to give an account of what He does,
Job 33:9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
Job 33:10 Behold, he finds occasions against me, he counts me for his enemy,
Job 33:11 He puts my feet in the stocks, he marks all my paths.
Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
Job 33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he gives not account of any of his matters.
A few more chapters later Elihu is still pouring out the message he had been given. He tells Job here to listen to this! Think about the wonderful works of God. Look at what he says,
Job 37:14 Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.
Job 37:15 Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine?
Job 37:16 Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?
He asks Job if he knows when God put this all in place and caused the light beams that shine through the clouds to shine. He may have very well been pointing up into the sky at the rays of sunlight streaming through a cloud while he was saying this to Job! Then he points out that the clouds stay up in the sky and is asking Job if he knows how it does. He returns to the praise of God who is perfect in knowledge.
Then at the end of the chapter Elihu tells Job that we cannot figure out the Almighty because His power, judgement and all of His justice is excellent! He will not afflict. Let's See what the Hebrew translation of this is,
He will not afflict - לא יענה la yeanneh, he will not Answer. He will give account of none of his matters to us. We cannot comprehend his motives, nor the ends he has in view.
Wow! It sounds to me like Elihu is telling Job here that he needs to not question God because God is just and doesn't answer to man because we couldn't understand it if God told us! That's not exactly what I was wanting to learn here! How about you?
What kind of answer is that? Whenever I asked someone a question and they told me it was not for me to know, it kind of struck me wrong and I would feel my pride rising up inside. Who were they to tell me what I should and shouldn't know? I wonder if Job may have felt this way at all right now. Maybe he was feeling a bit exhausted being covered with sores and still having lost all of his possessions and now a young man is telling him not to question God! I wanted to include these verses in this post because I want you to see for yourselves the last verse also,
Job 37:23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.
Job 37:24 Men do therefore fear him: he respects not any that are wise of heart.
The last thing Elihu says is that God will not respect any that are wise of heart. This means those who feel in their own heart that they have achieved the level of God in their wisdom. They have reached a level where they feel that they can talk to God on equal grounds! I have heard some popular celebrities in recent years telling us that we are Gods or we are on the same level as God.
Watch Out! Beware of the deception of our flesh that wants us to believe we are high and mighty!
Finally we get to the answer Job receives to "why me?"
Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 38:2 Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Job 38:3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Job 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Job 38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if you know it? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Job 38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The verses above are just the beginning of a long list of questions that God proceeded to ask Job! They are some pretty tough questions to answer too! All through the Bible, God asks men and women questions that he already knows the answer to, doesn't he?
I like these first few questions especially because of my experience in construction. I know the importance of proper measurement and layout! I know how critical it is that the foundation be built and fastened securely to assure that a building doesn't fall or shift! I realize how important the corner of a building is! Did you know that every building or home starts with a corner?
That's right! The first this that is laid out on the ground is a corner and everything else gets laid out off of that. You see, God planned from it from the very beginning of our existence that we lay things out in angles and degrees and the placement of that first corner is what decides where the rest of the building will be. Now, you'll never look at a corner the same again, will you?
You see, God has all of the answers and what you will find if you continue to read for the next three chapters is God revealing this to Job through more and more questions. And finally Job realized the answer!
Job dropped down on his face before God and cried out the following,
Job 42:5 I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees you.
Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor (despise) myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
It was at the moment that I read this, still sitting in that fifty foot wide circle in the middle of the forest, that I found the answer to the question I had been asking every single day for the past eighteen months, "Why did this happen to me God, why me?. I had found out what the answer was! I was not suppose to be asking God "why" but I was suppose to be trusting Him with all of the things that I couldn't understand in life! Trusting God was what Job learned that day and that is when he began to learn what God wanted him to learn. In verse six it says he repented in ashes! There weren't any ashes in the middle of the woods but there were plenty of leaves on the ground.
I know it sounds crazy, but I thought about it and decided, if it worked for Job then it would work for me too! I got down on my face, prostate on the ground and repented to my God for questioning His mighty plan for my life for the past eighteen months! I cried out for His forgiveness and told Him that I trusted Him with all things!
You know what happened next? God spoke in a still small voice to me while laying face down on the ground and He told me that He had been waiting a long time for me to come to Him in trust and to accept that He knows all things. I'll never forget the peace that came over me that day as I felt what felt like the hand of God on my back holding down against that bed of leaves and telling me it was going to be alright. I'm not sure exactly how long I lay there but I knew when I rose up to my feet that EVERYTHING was going to be alright, no matter what happens. That's why you will see that I often attach the verse reference for Psalm 118:8 to allot of my letters!
I found my answer, "To trust God and not depend on my own understanding!"
Let's pray,
My heavenly Father I come before you today, humbly at your throne, in awe at your Wisdom and knowledge that laid out the corners of the earth and fastened the foundations. Many times we speculate the future of our planet based on our very limited knowledge and you probably chuckle at the things we come up with. Sometimes we begin to feel as though our lives are spiralling out of control or we are threatened by catastrophe or illness and we want to understand why this is happening. I know that most people will not understand but I want to put it in your hands God and trust you! I repent that I have asked you why instead of trusting you as I should. Lead me and guide me, especially when I cannot see the way! Amen.
This post is going to be a little longer but it is necessary to wrap up our study together on "why me" and getting to the answer that I found in the book of Job.
I must finish and get on to the next topic of study so bear with me and get comfortable!
While reading over the final chapters of Job again this morning I realized another interesting fact that just added more mystery to Jobs questioning. In chapter 32 Elihu come forward and begins to speak. He said that he was a young man and was waiting because the older men had more wisdom, as in crafty and experienced according to the Hebrew translation. Then he explains in verse eight that there is a spirit in a man and that it is by the inspiration of the Almighty that he receives understanding. This is the understanding that allows a man to explain to others the wisdom of God!
The next thing Elihu says is this,
Job 32:9 Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
Job 32:10 Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion.
Job 32:11 Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say.
Job 32:12 Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words:
Job 32:13 Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man.
It is directed to Jobs friends and he is saying that they have not come to a conclusion to convince or answer Jobs questions. Then Elihu goes on to say in verse eighteen through twenty that he is about to burst with the message that his spirit is forcing him to give! Have you ever felt that way when you are listening to a conversation and you know that you have the answer or solution to the problem that is being discussed but you are trying to hold your silence because they aren't talking to you? Then somehow you blurt something out that allows you to join in so that you can share your experience or knowledge. If you have been waiting for long, you can get to where you feel as though you were going to burst if you couldn't speak!
In the construction projects that I have participated in managing we would have weekly meetings and during the meetings I would usually address areas that the trades were not keeping up with the schedule. It was an understanding that in our meetings that people were not to speak up unless called on and this kept our meetings in order so that we could finish in about an hours time. Well, I can tell you this for sure, there were certain men and women in those meetings that were always about to burst with things to say! They would squirm and move as if they were going to explode if they couldn't speak up, but I kept them at bay until I had finished the list that I had prepared. After I had gone over everything that I had planned for the meeting and only then would I begin to go around the room and let each person say whatever they needed to say. Every time we would start into this part of the meeting, I would look at the ones that were doing all the squirming and they would seem to begin relaxing a little, just knowing that their time to speak was coming up soon. I would imagine Elihu must have felt that way too. He said he had been waiting but I'm not sure how long. He had been given inspiration by the Almighty but he still had to wait for the right time. Maybe that's a lesson for us to remember when we feel the urge to speak up!
Job 32:18 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constrains me.
Job 32:19 Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.
Job 32:20 I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.
Let's move on to Jobs big question,"why me?" and find out what his answer was!
Elihu reminded Job that he had claimed his innocence and that he had said that God had treated him like a prisoner. Elihu then tells Job that he was not justified in saying this because we cannot argue with God and that God doesn't have to give an account of what He does,
Job 33:9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
Job 33:10 Behold, he finds occasions against me, he counts me for his enemy,
Job 33:11 He puts my feet in the stocks, he marks all my paths.
Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
Job 33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he gives not account of any of his matters.
A few more chapters later Elihu is still pouring out the message he had been given. He tells Job here to listen to this! Think about the wonderful works of God. Look at what he says,
Job 37:14 Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.
Job 37:15 Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine?
Job 37:16 Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?
He asks Job if he knows when God put this all in place and caused the light beams that shine through the clouds to shine. He may have very well been pointing up into the sky at the rays of sunlight streaming through a cloud while he was saying this to Job! Then he points out that the clouds stay up in the sky and is asking Job if he knows how it does. He returns to the praise of God who is perfect in knowledge.
Then at the end of the chapter Elihu tells Job that we cannot figure out the Almighty because His power, judgement and all of His justice is excellent! He will not afflict. Let's See what the Hebrew translation of this is,
He will not afflict - לא יענה la yeanneh, he will not Answer. He will give account of none of his matters to us. We cannot comprehend his motives, nor the ends he has in view.
Wow! It sounds to me like Elihu is telling Job here that he needs to not question God because God is just and doesn't answer to man because we couldn't understand it if God told us! That's not exactly what I was wanting to learn here! How about you?
What kind of answer is that? Whenever I asked someone a question and they told me it was not for me to know, it kind of struck me wrong and I would feel my pride rising up inside. Who were they to tell me what I should and shouldn't know? I wonder if Job may have felt this way at all right now. Maybe he was feeling a bit exhausted being covered with sores and still having lost all of his possessions and now a young man is telling him not to question God! I wanted to include these verses in this post because I want you to see for yourselves the last verse also,
Job 37:23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.
Job 37:24 Men do therefore fear him: he respects not any that are wise of heart.
The last thing Elihu says is that God will not respect any that are wise of heart. This means those who feel in their own heart that they have achieved the level of God in their wisdom. They have reached a level where they feel that they can talk to God on equal grounds! I have heard some popular celebrities in recent years telling us that we are Gods or we are on the same level as God.
Watch Out! Beware of the deception of our flesh that wants us to believe we are high and mighty!
Finally we get to the answer Job receives to "why me?"
Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 38:2 Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Job 38:3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Job 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Job 38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if you know it? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Job 38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The verses above are just the beginning of a long list of questions that God proceeded to ask Job! They are some pretty tough questions to answer too! All through the Bible, God asks men and women questions that he already knows the answer to, doesn't he?
I like these first few questions especially because of my experience in construction. I know the importance of proper measurement and layout! I know how critical it is that the foundation be built and fastened securely to assure that a building doesn't fall or shift! I realize how important the corner of a building is! Did you know that every building or home starts with a corner?
That's right! The first this that is laid out on the ground is a corner and everything else gets laid out off of that. You see, God planned from it from the very beginning of our existence that we lay things out in angles and degrees and the placement of that first corner is what decides where the rest of the building will be. Now, you'll never look at a corner the same again, will you?
You see, God has all of the answers and what you will find if you continue to read for the next three chapters is God revealing this to Job through more and more questions. And finally Job realized the answer!
Job dropped down on his face before God and cried out the following,
Job 42:5 I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees you.
Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor (despise) myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
It was at the moment that I read this, still sitting in that fifty foot wide circle in the middle of the forest, that I found the answer to the question I had been asking every single day for the past eighteen months, "Why did this happen to me God, why me?. I had found out what the answer was! I was not suppose to be asking God "why" but I was suppose to be trusting Him with all of the things that I couldn't understand in life! Trusting God was what Job learned that day and that is when he began to learn what God wanted him to learn. In verse six it says he repented in ashes! There weren't any ashes in the middle of the woods but there were plenty of leaves on the ground.
I know it sounds crazy, but I thought about it and decided, if it worked for Job then it would work for me too! I got down on my face, prostate on the ground and repented to my God for questioning His mighty plan for my life for the past eighteen months! I cried out for His forgiveness and told Him that I trusted Him with all things!
You know what happened next? God spoke in a still small voice to me while laying face down on the ground and He told me that He had been waiting a long time for me to come to Him in trust and to accept that He knows all things. I'll never forget the peace that came over me that day as I felt what felt like the hand of God on my back holding down against that bed of leaves and telling me it was going to be alright. I'm not sure exactly how long I lay there but I knew when I rose up to my feet that EVERYTHING was going to be alright, no matter what happens. That's why you will see that I often attach the verse reference for Psalm 118:8 to allot of my letters!
I found my answer, "To trust God and not depend on my own understanding!"
Let's pray,
My heavenly Father I come before you today, humbly at your throne, in awe at your Wisdom and knowledge that laid out the corners of the earth and fastened the foundations. Many times we speculate the future of our planet based on our very limited knowledge and you probably chuckle at the things we come up with. Sometimes we begin to feel as though our lives are spiralling out of control or we are threatened by catastrophe or illness and we want to understand why this is happening. I know that most people will not understand but I want to put it in your hands God and trust you! I repent that I have asked you why instead of trusting you as I should. Lead me and guide me, especially when I cannot see the way! Amen.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
"Understanding Why Things Happen" - Part 2
"Why Me" - Continued
I continued to read on, searching for the answers I desperately needed to understand why my life was so unpredictable and why bad things had happened to me. I was thinking, if I could find wisdom, surely I would know why! This is what I found next as I read.
Then job went on to say allot of things about what wisdom was not, but I needed some answers now! Then he says it again in verse twenty,
Job 28:20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
Job 28:21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
That's for sure; I sure couldn't see it! Why would it be hidden from me? Why couldn't I have understanding to know why this happened?
Then Job goes on to say how God sees and understands wisdom because he made the weight of the wind and measure of the water an exact weight and amount so that the creatures as well as us humans could survive here. I found out through study that about 3/4 of the earth surface is water but it takes that much water to provide the proper amount of humidity for the rest of the earth to survive through evaporation and rain. On top of that, if the weight of the air wasn't exactly what it is, we wouldn't have clouds and rain. Are you beginning to see the picture I was beginning to see here? It's the big picture that Job was talking about here!
Job says that God searched it out and declared it into action before he spoke to man and let's see what he said to him.
Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Wisdom comes from realizing His mighty power over all the elements and the earth that keep us alive. In Clark's commentary he says that it is believed that God gave the first man Adam the principles of the universe that he would understand how God set it up and that Adam was able to teach his descendants but God also said to depart from evil (the tree of wisdom) is understanding.
I want to make sure we don't miss this because this was hard for me to accept at first! I wanted answers for my bad experience to understand why it happened!
God wanted me to get a bigger picture by leading me to this passage in Job. God wanted me to understand what Job already knew and that was that He, God, set everything around us into motion in just a certain way that we could survive and everything was balanced. Even the gravitational pressure of air was set at what scientist say is fifteen pounds per square inch and the air changed outside of or inside of our bodies it would either push our organs out of us or our oxygen filled blood would run out of our pores! Adam was aware of all that God had done and yet he was deceived into thinking that he needed to take of the bad to have full understanding. That wasn't Gods intention but it was the choice of Adam and Eve to partake of something that was evil.
Look again at verse twenty-eight,
Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Job says, "to depart from evil is understanding"
I felt like I was onto something here but it wasn't clear to me how it related to my life.
As I continued reading on in search of the answers found by this man who had suffered so much, I cam to this verse,
Job 30:25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
Job 30:26 When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
I thought, "Wow! He did that too! He cared about the poor just like I did!" Then I read the next verse and kind of lost hope again that there was going to be an answer here. I continued reading on to chapter thirty-one,
Job 31:35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.
Job 31:36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.
Job lists everything that he has done and says that he wants to know if anyone finds fault in him!
Then he gets to verse thirty-five where he says that his desire is for the Almighty to answer him! I thought, "Wow, that's exactly what I'm saying here too!". This must be leading up to an answer, right? Then Job said he would take a written legal accusation of his wrong doing and put it on his shoulder or bind it to his head.
Some studying shows in ancient times this was a form of punishment when a crime was committed while they waited for their final verdict so that all who saw them knew they had been accused. It actually was a board with a hole that would fit their neck and the accusation would be written on the board.
This could be an answer to the crime rate we have today! Don't you think it would be a more effective way of fighting crime? Can't you just see the people standing in line waiting to stand before the court? There wouldn't need to be hours of preparation by the court. It would be right there on the board and all you would need is the accusers! Wow! I think they had a much wiser judicial system set in place in ancient times. They didn't need in home probation because anyone with this board around their neck wouldn't want to be seen in public anyways!
Then Job talks about how he would trace back all of his actions and steps to find out what he did to deserve this in verses thirty-six through forty. I felt the same way! I was sitting there thinking back to see if I had done something to deserve what had happened in the past year and a half of my life. I really wanted to understand so I could make it right and get the blessings flowing again. Have you ever found yourself trying to pinpoint something you did to deserve the trouble you were having in your life?
I heard a story once about a man who had pulled up in front of his house and parked next to the curb. As he was going into the front door he dropped his keys. When he reached to turn on the light, nothing happened! The power was off! So he proceeded to get down on the floor and crawl around trying to find hos keys but couldn't seem to locate them. That's when he noticed the light coming from the light pole outside next to his car at the street so he went out to the pole and started looking out there. Crazy right? Well, his neighbor came walking down the sidewalk with his dog and asked what he was doing. The man told him he was looking for his keys. So the neighbor being the good friend he was started crawling around on the ground under the pole with him looking for the keys. After about fifteen minutes of hunting through the grass, the neighbor asks, "Hey, do you remember exactly where you were when you dropped the keys?" and the man said, "Sure! I was standing at the front door!". Just then the neighbor jumped to his feet and exclaimed, "Then why in the world are we crawling around out here searching through the grass!". The man who lost his keys said calmly, "Because I can't see in there."
Isn't this how we so often look at our problems? Well, Job didn't do that! He was asking for a judgement of himself and he wanted to know what he had done wrong. That is a good thing and we should search ourselves where we can't see before we look around where it is easier to look first! I believe Job felt he had nothing to worry about so he was really frustrated here with his friends making accusations about him and guessing why he may be going through this. I remember some of that going on in my life also and it was humiliating because they really didn't know me or my heart at all. As a matter of fact my heart was broken when people I had know for years said they couldn't help me because they would rather not get involved. Boy was that hard to take!
Yes, I understand how it feels. If you have experienced this in your life, you are not alone! I and many others have walked in your shoes!
Not by choice, of course, but by other reasons we will learn about as we move on through this book. We will eventually learn just as Job did; the answer to his big question, "Why?".
Today I want you to realize this! It is not the things that others say that matter most; it is the still small voice of God that we here when we seek him that really matters. As continued searching the Bible alone in the woods that day, this realization became a reality that would change my life from that day forward! Job came to understand this as he pleaded with God for a reason for his troubles and you will too, if you continue to search for the answers from Gods Word!
Only one thing though!
I made the same mistake that Job made when I went searching for my answer and I'll share with you just exactly what that was next when you join me tomorrow to find out God's answer to my question, "why me?"
Let's pray,
My Jehovah El Roi, I ask you to open my eyes to your truth each day as I seek to understand the lessons I may learn from lifes exeriences. Help me to see clearly just how protected and blessed I am even in the toughest of situations! I choose not to depend on my own understanding but to trust in my Jehovah to be the lamp before my feet so that I will not stumble and the light before my path so that I will not loose my direction. Thank you for your promises to never leave us or forsake us! Amen.
Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Psalm 118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
Names of God
EL ROI: "God of Seeing" Hagar in Gen. 16:13. The God Who opens our eyes.
I continued to read on, searching for the answers I desperately needed to understand why my life was so unpredictable and why bad things had happened to me. I was thinking, if I could find wisdom, surely I would know why! This is what I found next as I read.
Then job went on to say allot of things about what wisdom was not, but I needed some answers now! Then he says it again in verse twenty,
Job 28:20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
Job 28:21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
That's for sure; I sure couldn't see it! Why would it be hidden from me? Why couldn't I have understanding to know why this happened?
Then Job goes on to say how God sees and understands wisdom because he made the weight of the wind and measure of the water an exact weight and amount so that the creatures as well as us humans could survive here. I found out through study that about 3/4 of the earth surface is water but it takes that much water to provide the proper amount of humidity for the rest of the earth to survive through evaporation and rain. On top of that, if the weight of the air wasn't exactly what it is, we wouldn't have clouds and rain. Are you beginning to see the picture I was beginning to see here? It's the big picture that Job was talking about here!
Job says that God searched it out and declared it into action before he spoke to man and let's see what he said to him.
Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Wisdom comes from realizing His mighty power over all the elements and the earth that keep us alive. In Clark's commentary he says that it is believed that God gave the first man Adam the principles of the universe that he would understand how God set it up and that Adam was able to teach his descendants but God also said to depart from evil (the tree of wisdom) is understanding.
I want to make sure we don't miss this because this was hard for me to accept at first! I wanted answers for my bad experience to understand why it happened!
God wanted me to get a bigger picture by leading me to this passage in Job. God wanted me to understand what Job already knew and that was that He, God, set everything around us into motion in just a certain way that we could survive and everything was balanced. Even the gravitational pressure of air was set at what scientist say is fifteen pounds per square inch and the air changed outside of or inside of our bodies it would either push our organs out of us or our oxygen filled blood would run out of our pores! Adam was aware of all that God had done and yet he was deceived into thinking that he needed to take of the bad to have full understanding. That wasn't Gods intention but it was the choice of Adam and Eve to partake of something that was evil.
Look again at verse twenty-eight,
Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Job says, "to depart from evil is understanding"
I felt like I was onto something here but it wasn't clear to me how it related to my life.
As I continued reading on in search of the answers found by this man who had suffered so much, I cam to this verse,
Job 30:25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
Job 30:26 When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
I thought, "Wow! He did that too! He cared about the poor just like I did!" Then I read the next verse and kind of lost hope again that there was going to be an answer here. I continued reading on to chapter thirty-one,
Job 31:35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.
Job 31:36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.
Job lists everything that he has done and says that he wants to know if anyone finds fault in him!
Then he gets to verse thirty-five where he says that his desire is for the Almighty to answer him! I thought, "Wow, that's exactly what I'm saying here too!". This must be leading up to an answer, right? Then Job said he would take a written legal accusation of his wrong doing and put it on his shoulder or bind it to his head.
Some studying shows in ancient times this was a form of punishment when a crime was committed while they waited for their final verdict so that all who saw them knew they had been accused. It actually was a board with a hole that would fit their neck and the accusation would be written on the board.
This could be an answer to the crime rate we have today! Don't you think it would be a more effective way of fighting crime? Can't you just see the people standing in line waiting to stand before the court? There wouldn't need to be hours of preparation by the court. It would be right there on the board and all you would need is the accusers! Wow! I think they had a much wiser judicial system set in place in ancient times. They didn't need in home probation because anyone with this board around their neck wouldn't want to be seen in public anyways!
Then Job talks about how he would trace back all of his actions and steps to find out what he did to deserve this in verses thirty-six through forty. I felt the same way! I was sitting there thinking back to see if I had done something to deserve what had happened in the past year and a half of my life. I really wanted to understand so I could make it right and get the blessings flowing again. Have you ever found yourself trying to pinpoint something you did to deserve the trouble you were having in your life?
I heard a story once about a man who had pulled up in front of his house and parked next to the curb. As he was going into the front door he dropped his keys. When he reached to turn on the light, nothing happened! The power was off! So he proceeded to get down on the floor and crawl around trying to find hos keys but couldn't seem to locate them. That's when he noticed the light coming from the light pole outside next to his car at the street so he went out to the pole and started looking out there. Crazy right? Well, his neighbor came walking down the sidewalk with his dog and asked what he was doing. The man told him he was looking for his keys. So the neighbor being the good friend he was started crawling around on the ground under the pole with him looking for the keys. After about fifteen minutes of hunting through the grass, the neighbor asks, "Hey, do you remember exactly where you were when you dropped the keys?" and the man said, "Sure! I was standing at the front door!". Just then the neighbor jumped to his feet and exclaimed, "Then why in the world are we crawling around out here searching through the grass!". The man who lost his keys said calmly, "Because I can't see in there."
Isn't this how we so often look at our problems? Well, Job didn't do that! He was asking for a judgement of himself and he wanted to know what he had done wrong. That is a good thing and we should search ourselves where we can't see before we look around where it is easier to look first! I believe Job felt he had nothing to worry about so he was really frustrated here with his friends making accusations about him and guessing why he may be going through this. I remember some of that going on in my life also and it was humiliating because they really didn't know me or my heart at all. As a matter of fact my heart was broken when people I had know for years said they couldn't help me because they would rather not get involved. Boy was that hard to take!
Yes, I understand how it feels. If you have experienced this in your life, you are not alone! I and many others have walked in your shoes!
Not by choice, of course, but by other reasons we will learn about as we move on through this book. We will eventually learn just as Job did; the answer to his big question, "Why?".
Today I want you to realize this! It is not the things that others say that matter most; it is the still small voice of God that we here when we seek him that really matters. As continued searching the Bible alone in the woods that day, this realization became a reality that would change my life from that day forward! Job came to understand this as he pleaded with God for a reason for his troubles and you will too, if you continue to search for the answers from Gods Word!
Only one thing though!
I made the same mistake that Job made when I went searching for my answer and I'll share with you just exactly what that was next when you join me tomorrow to find out God's answer to my question, "why me?"
Let's pray,
My Jehovah El Roi, I ask you to open my eyes to your truth each day as I seek to understand the lessons I may learn from lifes exeriences. Help me to see clearly just how protected and blessed I am even in the toughest of situations! I choose not to depend on my own understanding but to trust in my Jehovah to be the lamp before my feet so that I will not stumble and the light before my path so that I will not loose my direction. Thank you for your promises to never leave us or forsake us! Amen.
Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Psalm 118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
Names of God
EL ROI: "God of Seeing" Hagar in Gen. 16:13. The God Who opens our eyes.
"Understanding Why Things Happen"
"Why Me?"
Have you ever felt like you had gotten a raw deal? Somehow you were the one left holding the bag and it was full of bad news! I have been there! As a matter of fact I woke up every morning for about two years and asked God, "How could this possible have happened to me?". I thought I was a pretty good guy. My life was all about my family and making them as comfortable as possible while trying to do good things along the way for others. But one day I woke up and I had a huge bag of problems. Not only that but it seemed that new ones were being tossed in the bag every week!
Maybe some of you have not had this kind of experience but instead you just wake up to the same problem each and every day. Maybe you have something about your body that you really don't like or you have pains that greet you each morning when you get out of bed. It could be that you are fighting some kind of disease or infection that just keeps reappearing and you may be asking yourself,"Is it ever going to end?". For some of you it may seem like you have good health and no problems but you have the responsibility of taking care of someone that is handicapped or sick.
Day in and day out it's the same thing over and over again! The thought may cross your mind at some point during the day as it did mine, "Why did this happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? I didn't plan my life this way!"
" WHY ME GOD?"
That's right! For two years following my separation and divorce I woke up every morning and as I sipped on my morning cup of java, those words would echo in my head. I really believed that one day God was going to appear before me and explain it to me so I could get on with my life but it never happened! I even laid there at night sometimes tossing and turning until in total despair and sometimes with tears streaming down my face I begged God to please appear and tell me why this happened to me. I wanted a wife and a marriage that would last a lifetime! I didn't ask for his and I wanted things to be the way they had been before everything went berserk!
It was fall of 2003 and I always enjoyed the leaves changing colors and the change in temperatures. As I walked out on the deck to feel the cooler breeze and admire the trees, that feeling hit me again just as it had when I first woke up and reached across the bed as I had done for almost eighteen years and found myself only holding a cold pillow; I thought, "Why must I do this alone? Why me God?". I was tired of waking up tired and struggling through the day! My children surely were tired of seeing their dad always in a state of confusion and despair! I had tried all kinds of health products and even the latest feel good pills that everyone was raving about but it didn't seem to make any difference!
This had gone on way too long and I wanted to feel good now!
That morning I was determined to get an answer from God! I decided to take my Bible and go down to Durant Nature Park in North Raleigh and spend the day asking God why He allowed this to happen to me. I thought to myself, "I'll just sit there in solitude until he answers me" I didn't have the kids for the next three days and I was self employed then so I could do that. Surely God would tell me what in the world to do next! Sounds crazy doesn't it? I didn't know then, but God knew when I had reached my wits end and was desperate enough to search His word, I would find my answer!
When I arrived at the park it seemed busier than ever and I thought, "This is not even going to work out for me." Here I was going to seek an answer from God and He sent everybody and their brother to the park before I got there! I knew I needed a place alone so that God could appear before me and tell me why this had happened to me, why my life had taken a sudden turn for the worst.
Since the lake house that I went to years before for quiet time alone to read was surrounded by people and the tables were being used I decided to walk down into the woods. There was a deer trail that led me far into the shaded forest towards the back side of the lake and I continued down this path for about thirty minutes over logs and through the vines and thorns. Those deer can slide through all of that stuff I thought to myself as I bent down and pulled back the thorny branches. Then suddenly as though it had been planned I walked right into an opening in the forest of approximately fifty feet in diameter. It was full of light compared to the rest of the shaded forest all around me. It was a perfect place to stop as the noise of the traffic and people had long ago diminished. As I sat down on the ground in the middle of this circle of light, I thought about how interesting it was to find a spot like this right out here in the middle of the woods. Maybe it was left by the Indians from their tribal dances or the war generals had a tent set up here back in the civil war! I thought about how sacred this spot may have been to people many years before; but now it was just a spot in the forest that no one even knew about; except for me, and God of course.
As I sat there in the middle of this spot I began to think about how the past had been left behind, forgotten deep in the forest and I thought about the people who may have shaped this location that I now would use as my place to meet with God. They were long gone! Forgotten by the present generations but not forgotten by our God, I thought. Hmm? Was this my answer?
Should I realize that I am not forgotten no matter what has happened in life?
That wasn't really very satisfying to know God just remembers me. I needed something more!
I needed to know why! Why did I have to loose what I had worked so hard for all of those years?
Why would someone I loved suddenly not love me?
Why couldn't I feel alive any more?
After sitting there for about an hour and not getting any revelations from God I decided to open the Bible I had carried with me, just in case the answer was hidden in the words somewhere and maybe God would highlight the words miraculously for me and it would all be finally be clear to me. I really doubted it but I was desperate! Keep in mind that my realization that Gods grace and mercy had saved me had not happened yet in my life either. I was still trying my best to do enough good to receive the award of a relationship with God so that was also part of my struggle. Achieving acceptance was a big part of my life back then! I spent allot of my time thinking of ways I could do that with everyone, including God! So you can better understand why I was so depressed when Gods rewards turn to punishment as far as I could tell! That's just how I translated what I learned while growing up and I hadn't really had a problem with it as long as I was being blessed!
Wouldn't you feel the same way too if you were doing good things and good things were happening to you? Hey! That's what prosperity preaching is all about, right? Do good and receive good! That's why I was so confused! I had tried to do good.
Well, as I sat there and wondered what God would do to show me why this had happened, I decided to open my Bible up and look up words in the concordance that might bring meaning to my life. I looked up words like suffering, divorce, desolate and wisdom. When I looked up wisdom I went from looking up the things that I had to looking up what I wanted to have so I could know why my world had been turned upside down. Let's look at a verse that I found in Job,
Job 28:12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
That's it! That is exactly what I wanted, some kind of divine wisdom and understanding!
If only I could find that, I couldn't understand "why" my life had taken such a turn for the worse!
But.....how? How is wisdom found and where is understanding?
We will continue our quest for these answers tomorrow!
Let's pray,
My Lord and Savior, I know that you tell me that you will never leave me nor forsake me, but sometimes I just don't understand why things happen the way that they do and it really feels like I am alone sometimes. I ask you Lord to show me what I need to know during these times and to not grow impatient with your timing! Teach me your ways and guide me down the paths you have for me today and all through this journey we call life. Amen.
Have you ever felt like you had gotten a raw deal? Somehow you were the one left holding the bag and it was full of bad news! I have been there! As a matter of fact I woke up every morning for about two years and asked God, "How could this possible have happened to me?". I thought I was a pretty good guy. My life was all about my family and making them as comfortable as possible while trying to do good things along the way for others. But one day I woke up and I had a huge bag of problems. Not only that but it seemed that new ones were being tossed in the bag every week!
Maybe some of you have not had this kind of experience but instead you just wake up to the same problem each and every day. Maybe you have something about your body that you really don't like or you have pains that greet you each morning when you get out of bed. It could be that you are fighting some kind of disease or infection that just keeps reappearing and you may be asking yourself,"Is it ever going to end?". For some of you it may seem like you have good health and no problems but you have the responsibility of taking care of someone that is handicapped or sick.
Day in and day out it's the same thing over and over again! The thought may cross your mind at some point during the day as it did mine, "Why did this happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? I didn't plan my life this way!"
" WHY ME GOD?"
That's right! For two years following my separation and divorce I woke up every morning and as I sipped on my morning cup of java, those words would echo in my head. I really believed that one day God was going to appear before me and explain it to me so I could get on with my life but it never happened! I even laid there at night sometimes tossing and turning until in total despair and sometimes with tears streaming down my face I begged God to please appear and tell me why this happened to me. I wanted a wife and a marriage that would last a lifetime! I didn't ask for his and I wanted things to be the way they had been before everything went berserk!
It was fall of 2003 and I always enjoyed the leaves changing colors and the change in temperatures. As I walked out on the deck to feel the cooler breeze and admire the trees, that feeling hit me again just as it had when I first woke up and reached across the bed as I had done for almost eighteen years and found myself only holding a cold pillow; I thought, "Why must I do this alone? Why me God?". I was tired of waking up tired and struggling through the day! My children surely were tired of seeing their dad always in a state of confusion and despair! I had tried all kinds of health products and even the latest feel good pills that everyone was raving about but it didn't seem to make any difference!
This had gone on way too long and I wanted to feel good now!
That morning I was determined to get an answer from God! I decided to take my Bible and go down to Durant Nature Park in North Raleigh and spend the day asking God why He allowed this to happen to me. I thought to myself, "I'll just sit there in solitude until he answers me" I didn't have the kids for the next three days and I was self employed then so I could do that. Surely God would tell me what in the world to do next! Sounds crazy doesn't it? I didn't know then, but God knew when I had reached my wits end and was desperate enough to search His word, I would find my answer!
When I arrived at the park it seemed busier than ever and I thought, "This is not even going to work out for me." Here I was going to seek an answer from God and He sent everybody and their brother to the park before I got there! I knew I needed a place alone so that God could appear before me and tell me why this had happened to me, why my life had taken a sudden turn for the worst.
Since the lake house that I went to years before for quiet time alone to read was surrounded by people and the tables were being used I decided to walk down into the woods. There was a deer trail that led me far into the shaded forest towards the back side of the lake and I continued down this path for about thirty minutes over logs and through the vines and thorns. Those deer can slide through all of that stuff I thought to myself as I bent down and pulled back the thorny branches. Then suddenly as though it had been planned I walked right into an opening in the forest of approximately fifty feet in diameter. It was full of light compared to the rest of the shaded forest all around me. It was a perfect place to stop as the noise of the traffic and people had long ago diminished. As I sat down on the ground in the middle of this circle of light, I thought about how interesting it was to find a spot like this right out here in the middle of the woods. Maybe it was left by the Indians from their tribal dances or the war generals had a tent set up here back in the civil war! I thought about how sacred this spot may have been to people many years before; but now it was just a spot in the forest that no one even knew about; except for me, and God of course.
As I sat there in the middle of this spot I began to think about how the past had been left behind, forgotten deep in the forest and I thought about the people who may have shaped this location that I now would use as my place to meet with God. They were long gone! Forgotten by the present generations but not forgotten by our God, I thought. Hmm? Was this my answer?
Should I realize that I am not forgotten no matter what has happened in life?
That wasn't really very satisfying to know God just remembers me. I needed something more!
I needed to know why! Why did I have to loose what I had worked so hard for all of those years?
Why would someone I loved suddenly not love me?
Why couldn't I feel alive any more?
After sitting there for about an hour and not getting any revelations from God I decided to open the Bible I had carried with me, just in case the answer was hidden in the words somewhere and maybe God would highlight the words miraculously for me and it would all be finally be clear to me. I really doubted it but I was desperate! Keep in mind that my realization that Gods grace and mercy had saved me had not happened yet in my life either. I was still trying my best to do enough good to receive the award of a relationship with God so that was also part of my struggle. Achieving acceptance was a big part of my life back then! I spent allot of my time thinking of ways I could do that with everyone, including God! So you can better understand why I was so depressed when Gods rewards turn to punishment as far as I could tell! That's just how I translated what I learned while growing up and I hadn't really had a problem with it as long as I was being blessed!
Wouldn't you feel the same way too if you were doing good things and good things were happening to you? Hey! That's what prosperity preaching is all about, right? Do good and receive good! That's why I was so confused! I had tried to do good.
Well, as I sat there and wondered what God would do to show me why this had happened, I decided to open my Bible up and look up words in the concordance that might bring meaning to my life. I looked up words like suffering, divorce, desolate and wisdom. When I looked up wisdom I went from looking up the things that I had to looking up what I wanted to have so I could know why my world had been turned upside down. Let's look at a verse that I found in Job,
Job 28:12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
That's it! That is exactly what I wanted, some kind of divine wisdom and understanding!
If only I could find that, I couldn't understand "why" my life had taken such a turn for the worse!
But.....how? How is wisdom found and where is understanding?
We will continue our quest for these answers tomorrow!
Let's pray,
My Lord and Savior, I know that you tell me that you will never leave me nor forsake me, but sometimes I just don't understand why things happen the way that they do and it really feels like I am alone sometimes. I ask you Lord to show me what I need to know during these times and to not grow impatient with your timing! Teach me your ways and guide me down the paths you have for me today and all through this journey we call life. Amen.
Monday, June 22, 2009
"The Least of These"
Compassion in Action!
Today I was thinking about the times when I worked hard at teaching my girls how to help others in need because it was the right thing to do! We would do things like take food or clothes to people in poor sections of town.
I had read something that greatly disturbed me while I was on my quest for knowledge and wisdom in 1999. What I read said that I would parish if I didn't do certain things in my life here on earth! When I talked to someone at church about it he said, "Isn't that a parable?"So I went back and read it again and one more time to make sure I was correct. It wasn't a parable at all!
It was something that is going to happen one day!
What I didn't understand when I first read it was that I would not have to work at it. Nor would I have to try to keep up with what I had done or not done .
You see, when I first read this passage, I had not yet fully understood the plan that God had for me! I didn't fully understand that it was God who gave us the grace and mercy that would make us pure in His sight so that we would not only be a part of His family but I would have a natural desire to do these things whenever I had the opportunity!
What is it that I read that day? Lets read it now,
Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
I knew when my life was change that day in February of 2004, while sitting in my kitchen searching for the answers to life and accepting the grace and mercy of God, that I had a new desire to do these things out of the compassion of my heart. The Spirit of God now dwells in me and I am truly a new creature!
I want to share a eleven minute video that I received. I hope that we will carry the lesson in our hearts and remember "the least of these"!
Today I was thinking about the times when I worked hard at teaching my girls how to help others in need because it was the right thing to do! We would do things like take food or clothes to people in poor sections of town.
I had read something that greatly disturbed me while I was on my quest for knowledge and wisdom in 1999. What I read said that I would parish if I didn't do certain things in my life here on earth! When I talked to someone at church about it he said, "Isn't that a parable?"So I went back and read it again and one more time to make sure I was correct. It wasn't a parable at all!
It was something that is going to happen one day!
What I didn't understand when I first read it was that I would not have to work at it. Nor would I have to try to keep up with what I had done or not done .
You see, when I first read this passage, I had not yet fully understood the plan that God had for me! I didn't fully understand that it was God who gave us the grace and mercy that would make us pure in His sight so that we would not only be a part of His family but I would have a natural desire to do these things whenever I had the opportunity!
What is it that I read that day? Lets read it now,
Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
I knew when my life was change that day in February of 2004, while sitting in my kitchen searching for the answers to life and accepting the grace and mercy of God, that I had a new desire to do these things out of the compassion of my heart. The Spirit of God now dwells in me and I am truly a new creature!
I want to share a eleven minute video that I received. I hope that we will carry the lesson in our hearts and remember "the least of these"!
This video is definitely on track and worth watching!
Click the link below to see - NOOMA ON COMPASSION
http://player.flannel.org/compassion?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SP_ADV-0212_NOOMA%20%281%29&utm_content=&referer=corner
Click the link below to see - NOOMA ON COMPASSION
http://player.flannel.org/compassion?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SP_ADV-0212_NOOMA%20%281%29&utm_content=&referer=corner
"Am I Steadfast?"
"How Job was Steadfast"
We see in Job chapter two and verse three that the Lord says something to Satan. Let's read this passage together,
Job 2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
Let's consider what the Lord has just said to Satan for a moment! The Lord asked Satan a question and the question was whether he had considered His servant, Job.
The phrase "hast thou considered" in the Hebrew is "soom labe ale" which means "consider(soom) the heart(labe) closely(ale)". So the Lord is asking based on the literal Hebrew "Have you closely considered the heart of my servant (bondman) Job, to find out that there is no other like him on the earth"! Satan, have you searched his very heart to see how steadfast he is in his faith and trust in the one true God?
Then in the same verse the Lord says that Job was perfect; meaning undefiled and upright in the Hebrew. Next the Lord said that Job feared God and escheweth evil; meaning to move away from or rebel bad or evil in the Hebrew. Then the Lord says to Satan," and still he holds fast (maintains) his integrity(his innocence), although you move me against(provoke me against) him to destroy him for no reason."
What was it that held Job firm in his innocence and kept the circumstances from overcoming and defiling his integrity?
Let's look back to the beginning of Jobs troubles because that is usually when we first begin to get off track and make the mistakes that lead us down a road of regret and drawing away from our innocence. Away from the purity of God that keeps us strong when Satan's seduction comes to draw us away. Let's read a passage from Job in chapter one following the account of the attack by Satan on Jobs life.
Job had just been told that his grown children were all dead; his camels were taken; his sheep and servants were burnt up by fire from heaven; his ox and asses were taken and on top of all of that all of the servants that were caring for his animals were all killed except for the ones delivering the awful news to Job!
Let's look at Jobs response to this news in verse twenty of chapter one,
Job 1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
He did what? He tore his clothes as was custom when someone was mourning or grieving as well as shaving the head! He fell down on the ground and worshipped! This is the first thing he did!
I have to tell you right now, "That is not the first thing I could think of doing right after hearing this news! My first thought might be to go after whoever was the cause of this terrible loss!"
I mean, we get mad when someone just cuts us off at the light or honks at me when the light changes! How could I possibly get down on the ground at a time like this to worship?
The second reason Job remains steadfast is found in the next verse when we hear Job as he begins to worship,
Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
Wow! Again I am just shocked at Jobs attitude about the losses he has experienced!
All of this had been given to Job by the LORD and Job had come to realize this long before this day had come! The reason I know this is because of Jobs first response.
Our first response in time of trouble is our evidence of the things unseen; that is the faith or lack of faith in our hearts!
Have we given serious thought about our faith today? How will you and I hold up in a sudden moment of trouble? Are we children of God who will maintain our integrity?
Then Job said something so basic yet so enlightening that we can apply to our lives and learn from. He said that the LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!
Job had been blessing the name of the LORD for many years before this tragic day in his life and it had not only prepared him for this day of suffering but it had also prepared him to remain steadfast in his TRUST in the LORD God of all creation who has the power to give to us and to take away!
There aren't many cases when something like this is recorded to have happened. I ask myself, "If it does happen, will I remain steadfast in my faith and trust in the LORD of all creation?" " Will I be strong and maintain a right attitude that glorifies the LORD or am I going to react to whatever comes my way and allow the troubles of this world to dictate my choices in life?" "Are troubled times going to take me away from God or am I going to take the troubled times in my life to God and trust them in His hands? "
I know it isn't easy to imagine this now, but if you will prepare your heart by accepting Gods will for your life by faith, your trust in God will remain steadfast when the rough times come.
Remaining steadfast starts in the heart! Let's search there first before we look for strength in others! Let's go where we will find the Spirit of God; in worship to our LORD; our Jehovah!
Life is full of ups and downs; be ready!
Let's pray,
Our LORD, I come to you as your child today; your child that came out of my mothers womb naked with absolutely nothing! I will return to you again one day with nothing as well! You have given to me and you have also taken away from me through the past years of my life; blessed be your name LORD! Blessed be your name! Bless the hearts of all who can pray this prayer today and continue work in the hearts of those who cannot pray this way. Thank you for our example in Job of a man who remained steadfast in his faith and trust! By the power of your spirit in me I too will remain steadfast in my faith and trust in you LORD. Amen.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
"Happy Father's Day!"
Coffee For Dad The Skit Guys
Source: www.youtube.com
The Skits guys are awesome and God continue to use their ministry to bless other. Visit their website at http://www.skitguys.com/ you will not be disappointed. Summary from their website: Just like a loving ...
Source: www.youtube.com
The Skits guys are awesome and God continue to use their ministry to bless other. Visit their website at http://www.skitguys.com/ you will not be disappointed. Summary from their website: Just like a loving ...
"Will You Remain Steadfast?"
"Steadfast In Suffering!"
As we look today in the book of Job, I find Job being tested by Satan a second time. Satan has been allowed to take most all of Jobs belongings by one means or another and now Satan has been given permission to afflict Job physically but not to take his life.
Have you ever felt like you had been forgotten by God or felt like God must have taken away your protection and left you to make it on your own? It certainly appeared this way for Job as he began to break out in sores from head to toe and all of his friends had to keep their distance from him! As I was reading this story in the second chapter I saw where Jobs wife was talking to him and she was feeling pretty desperate for not only Job but for herself as well!
Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Let's look at what the Septuagint says about this verse!
To this verse the Septuagint adds the following words: "Much time having elapsed, his wife said unto him, How long dost thou stand steadfast, saying, ‘Behold, I wait yet a little longer looking for the hope of my Salvation?’ Behold thy memorial is already blotted out from the earth, together with thy sons and thy daughters, the fruits of my pains and labors, for whom with anxiety I have labored in vain. Thyself also sittest in the rottenness of worms night and day, while I am a wanderer from place to place, and from house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labors, and from the griefs which oppress me. Speak therefore some word against God, and die."
We translate ברך אלהים ומת barech Elohim vamuth, Curse God, and die. The verb ברך barach is supposed to include in it the ideas of cursing and blessing; but it is not clear that it has the former meaning in any part of the sacred writings, though we sometimes translate it so.
Here it seems to be a strong irony. Job was exceedingly afflicted, and apparently dying through sore disease; yet his soul was filled with gratitude to God. His wife, destitute of the salvation which her husband possessed, gave him this ironical reproof. Bless God, and die - What! bless him for his goodness, while he is destroying all that thou hast! bless him for his support, while he is casting thee down and destroying thee! Bless on, and die. The Targum says that Job’s wife’s name was Dinah, and that the words which she spake to him on this occasion were בריך מימרא דיי ומית berich meymera dayai umith. Bless the word of the Lord, and die.
I see his wife Dinah telling Job to continue to trust in God and if God cares about you at all, you will be given mercy if you request to die! I don't believe Jobs wife was destitute of Jobs salvation because the word translated "to curse" has been translated in other uses to be "to bless"; therefore it makes more sense that Job blessed God, but she did suggest that he ask God to take his life. Dinah also made mention to Job that everything that he had been known for (his memorial on earth) was wiped out and gone, including his children! I cannot imagine the pain that he must have felt at this moment when his wife, the last remaining of his family, was telling him to give up! But Job was steadfast in his faith as we read verse ten,
Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Could I be so strong and steadfast in my faith that I could respond this way instead of giving up as all signs of hope have evaded me and my closest of relations had reached the point of hopelessness?
I don't know for sure! How about you? Are you going through some tough times that seem to be hopeless with no end in sight? Will you be steadfast in your faith? Will we not sin with our lips against God?
I want to look at how this unfolds for Job and his wife.
Job was staying outside of the city now, ashamed of his condition, I feel sure. He was desperate for some relief and his wife was exhausted from working all day and returning to her suffering husband each evening.
If you are a parent, I feel sure that you have had times when your child or spouse was sick with a virus for a few days. Weren't those the longest days of your life? It seemed that there was no rest to be gotten as the sickness overcame them and they had need of your care and attention to recover! If it was your children, they wanted you to hold them and to be within sight of you at all times! Somehow it brought them some comfort to not be alone while they suffered!
I wonder how Job must have felt as his condition caused all to keep their distance? Even his friends and wife couldn't stand to be close to him with his infections and sores!
Let's look at verses eleven through thirteen,
Job 2:11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
Job 2:12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
Job 2:13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar had all decided that they would go and try to comfort their friend who was all alone! They must have been the few true friends that Job had made in life; the friends in whom he consulted and counseled with concerning issues. Maybe they felt that they could help Job make sense of the circumstances that had isolated him from the community and his position there.
In verse twelve it says that they couldn't even recognize Job and they began to weep loudly; tearing the clothes they had on and throwing dust on their heads. They were hysterical! Wouldn't you say? I think it would be much like seeing one of your best friends for the first time after being in a bad accident where they had been burned all over their body! You knew it was the person you once knew but their appearance was totally distorted.
Job's condition could have been small pox but it had reached a level that it was so extreme that Job had been scraping his skin with a tool and must have been covered in blood and swelling.
These friends of his were so close that they actually did come and sit with him for seven days and nights but they didn't say a word because Job was grieving. He had gone into a state of depression it sounds like and he was speechless for seven days as he endured this pain and embarrassment in the presence of his friends.
Have you or someone you know ever gone through something that just left you speechless? Did you despair or did you remain steadfast?
Did you offer support and strengthen them or did you complain about their circumstances and leave them as hopeless as they were before?
I have learned from this passage something that is so important as a single dad!
If I remember nothing else from this passage, what I must not ever forget for as long as I live is to remain steadfast! Steadfast in my faith and my trust in my Lord! It is by this that I will be able to overcome any condition!
It is by this that I will endure any circumstances!
It is by remaining steadfast that God will receive the glory and my faith will become the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen!
Remember! The things we hope for are made of faith and the proof of the things we cannot see!
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
It is the faith in the unseen that we have that brings the hope for our future!
Without a vision, the people truly will perish!
We will look at the way that Job was able to remain steadfast next time.
It is going to amaze you when you understand how a man of such wealth and wisdom looks at the world around him. You too will be able to remain steadfast as we learn from the wisdom of Job!
Let's pray,
My Jehovah, as a father, I long to remain steadfast in my faith and trust in you! You have been with me through every one of the trials of life and I want to believe, oh Lord, that you will never leave me, nor forsake me! I do trust in your promises and believe that your comforter is always with me! You have always been the one who carried me when I couldn't walk on my own! You understood when I was weak and stumbled in life. You know my imperfections and love me regardless! I want to thank you right now, my JEHOVAH-ROPHE, for the healing you have performed in my life through the forgiveness of others, but just as important, through the forgiveness of myself. Father, forgive me today for the times I have not remained steadfast in my trust in you! Thank you for blessing and protecting my family and all who join me today in this prayer! Amen.
Friday, June 19, 2009
"Who's Laughing Now? "
"The Humor of God"
We were looking at the seasons and the time for laughter in Ecclesiastes and I wanted to share something that I was reading with my daughter that we found to have been humorous.
What was really surprising to us was that it was God who was telling the joke this time!
Job 41:1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
Job 41:2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
Leviathan was a huge sea creature that some believe met the modern day descriptions of a dragon and I would agree with that. If you can, picture a dragon in the sea and a man trying to catch it with a fishing hook or a piece of twine with some food tied to it. What do you think would happen if Job could catch a dragon this way? In my imagination I envisioned that dragon yanking Job right into the sea and eating the hook, food and Job!
So what do you think Job was thinking when God asked him this? Job was one of the wisest men that ever lived!
Verse two is a continuation of the teasing of Job by God. Then it gets even funnier as we read verse three and four,
Job 41:3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
Job 41:4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
God asks Job if the big burly dragon will ask over and over again to let him go or if it will speak kind words to him when he catches it on his hook. I just couldn't help but laugh at this picture that God was painting for Job. Then God asks Job if the dragon would make a covenant! Can you just see this sea creature promising Job that he would do anything if he would just set him free!
Next, God asks Job if he would take the dragon to be his servant and to have it work for him for ever. I think God may have used the term "for ever" just in case Job was picturing a young dragon and perhaps he thought it would be possible. But the thought of keeping it after it had grown into a huge beast was impossible!
The next verses were full of humor,
Job 41:5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? (make him a pet) or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?(put him on a leash for the young ladies to enjoy)
Obviously the dragon didn't make a good pet! I know that there is a cartoon that my girl has watched with a pet dragon that flies them all over the place on it's back, but it is just a cartoon! It isn't going to happen! You know it; I know it and Job knew it too! Do you think Job may have been grinning by now at Gods questions?
Job 41:6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him?(cut him up and cook him for dinner) shall they part him among the merchants? (cut up and sell his parts)
Would they eat him for dinner? Yuck! First of all, a barb or knife wouldn't even penetrate his skin so how would you cut him up and secondly, how would you eat something this tough? I know we men have tried to eat anything that didn't eat us first but I believe Job probably would have turned his nose up at this dish!
Job 41:7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?
Job 41:8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
Again God asks if Job has thought of a way to capture this creature and God says that you better remember in times past how anyone that laid their hand on him didn't live, so don't even try it!
Job 41:9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
Job 41:10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
Any of mans hope of conquering this creature is useless, as people fainted at just the sight of this ferocious creature! I don't believe it was talking about a crocodile here as some would say but rather something more like the Loch nest monster we have all heard stories about.
God goes on and on describing this creature to Job! Maybe Job had been so busy running his huge estate and helping solve the problems of the world that he had never seen one of these creatures or known of it's great strength, so God goes on describing it in great detail .
I found the humor of God when I saw how Job must have felt being asked all of these obvious questions! We were all created in the image and likeness of God and we must admit, we love to hear jokes! In this rare passage of the scriptures I see that God enjoyed the teasing of Job with His pop quiz on "How to catch and tame a sea monster" (a leviathan).
Let's learn two things from this.
I want to be able to teach my child without being so serious all the time. I can learn from the example of our Creator here about how to approach her when she feels she knows it all and bring her to a more teachable frame of mind.
Second, I have learned that God is our mighty Creator that has dominion over all creatures, great and small so we might as well accept what He wants to do in our lives and stop fighting against his powerful hand. He created the leviathan and that creature is unstoppable! Need I say more?
I have learned like Job did, not to question the things that God has planned for my life. God wants what is best for me if I will just be patient and trust in Him.
Let's pray,
My Jehovah Rophe, I come to your throne today, thanking you for your understanding that we have need of humor in order to heal emotionally, spiritually and physically. I thank you for showing us the humor in our mistakes and misunderstandings and at the same time showing us the power with which you have created all that we see around us in the world. Help us to remember to laugh when it is the season for laughing! Keep your hand of protection about me, my family and all who are joining me in this prayer today. Keep me from evil so that I will not be grieved but rather be happy and be able to partake in your laughter and the joy only you can give today!
Names of God
JEHOVAH-ROPHE: "The Lord Who Heals" Ex. 15:22-26. From "rophe" ("to heal"); implies spiritual, emotional as well as physical healing. (Jer. 30:17, 3:22; Isa. 61:1) God heals body, soul and spirit; all levels of man's being.
We were looking at the seasons and the time for laughter in Ecclesiastes and I wanted to share something that I was reading with my daughter that we found to have been humorous.
What was really surprising to us was that it was God who was telling the joke this time!
We first saw it beginning in verse one of chapter forty-one when God was speaking to Job. Job had questioned God about his condition. If you are not familiar with this; Job had been through every type of suffering a person could experience and he had asked God why this could happen to him. It was after that statement by Job that God proceeded to ask all kinds of things. Let's look at some of those questions in chapter forty-one of Job,
Job 41:1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
Job 41:2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
Leviathan was a huge sea creature that some believe met the modern day descriptions of a dragon and I would agree with that. If you can, picture a dragon in the sea and a man trying to catch it with a fishing hook or a piece of twine with some food tied to it. What do you think would happen if Job could catch a dragon this way? In my imagination I envisioned that dragon yanking Job right into the sea and eating the hook, food and Job!
So what do you think Job was thinking when God asked him this? Job was one of the wisest men that ever lived!
Verse two is a continuation of the teasing of Job by God. Then it gets even funnier as we read verse three and four,
Job 41:3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
Job 41:4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
God asks Job if the big burly dragon will ask over and over again to let him go or if it will speak kind words to him when he catches it on his hook. I just couldn't help but laugh at this picture that God was painting for Job. Then God asks Job if the dragon would make a covenant! Can you just see this sea creature promising Job that he would do anything if he would just set him free!
Next, God asks Job if he would take the dragon to be his servant and to have it work for him for ever. I think God may have used the term "for ever" just in case Job was picturing a young dragon and perhaps he thought it would be possible. But the thought of keeping it after it had grown into a huge beast was impossible!
The next verses were full of humor,
Job 41:5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? (make him a pet) or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?(put him on a leash for the young ladies to enjoy)
Obviously the dragon didn't make a good pet! I know that there is a cartoon that my girl has watched with a pet dragon that flies them all over the place on it's back, but it is just a cartoon! It isn't going to happen! You know it; I know it and Job knew it too! Do you think Job may have been grinning by now at Gods questions?
Job 41:6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him?(cut him up and cook him for dinner) shall they part him among the merchants? (cut up and sell his parts)
Would they eat him for dinner? Yuck! First of all, a barb or knife wouldn't even penetrate his skin so how would you cut him up and secondly, how would you eat something this tough? I know we men have tried to eat anything that didn't eat us first but I believe Job probably would have turned his nose up at this dish!
Job 41:7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?
Job 41:8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
Again God asks if Job has thought of a way to capture this creature and God says that you better remember in times past how anyone that laid their hand on him didn't live, so don't even try it!
Job 41:9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
Job 41:10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
Any of mans hope of conquering this creature is useless, as people fainted at just the sight of this ferocious creature! I don't believe it was talking about a crocodile here as some would say but rather something more like the Loch nest monster we have all heard stories about.
God goes on and on describing this creature to Job! Maybe Job had been so busy running his huge estate and helping solve the problems of the world that he had never seen one of these creatures or known of it's great strength, so God goes on describing it in great detail .
I found the humor of God when I saw how Job must have felt being asked all of these obvious questions! We were all created in the image and likeness of God and we must admit, we love to hear jokes! In this rare passage of the scriptures I see that God enjoyed the teasing of Job with His pop quiz on "How to catch and tame a sea monster" (a leviathan).
Let's learn two things from this.
I want to be able to teach my child without being so serious all the time. I can learn from the example of our Creator here about how to approach her when she feels she knows it all and bring her to a more teachable frame of mind.
Second, I have learned that God is our mighty Creator that has dominion over all creatures, great and small so we might as well accept what He wants to do in our lives and stop fighting against his powerful hand. He created the leviathan and that creature is unstoppable! Need I say more?
I have learned like Job did, not to question the things that God has planned for my life. God wants what is best for me if I will just be patient and trust in Him.
Let's pray,
My Jehovah Rophe, I come to your throne today, thanking you for your understanding that we have need of humor in order to heal emotionally, spiritually and physically. I thank you for showing us the humor in our mistakes and misunderstandings and at the same time showing us the power with which you have created all that we see around us in the world. Help us to remember to laugh when it is the season for laughing! Keep your hand of protection about me, my family and all who are joining me in this prayer today. Keep me from evil so that I will not be grieved but rather be happy and be able to partake in your laughter and the joy only you can give today!
Names of God
JEHOVAH-ROPHE: "The Lord Who Heals" Ex. 15:22-26. From "rophe" ("to heal"); implies spiritual, emotional as well as physical healing. (Jer. 30:17, 3:22; Isa. 61:1) God heals body, soul and spirit; all levels of man's being.
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