OUR LORD GOD ALMIGHTY IS SO FAR ABOVE US!

Then Job answered the LORD and said:  “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.  I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.” —Job 40:3-4

Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. —Job 41:11

Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.  ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’  I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” —Job 42:1-7

Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. —Psalm 147:5

            Yes, our great Lord is “abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.”  He is so far beyond us.  When Job started thinking right about Who the Lord is he despised himself and repented “in dust and ashes.”  He acknowledged of himself that there were “things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”  Job also answered the LORD and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”  Yes, the Lord can do “all things” and all that is “under the whole heaven is (His).”  Yes, Job realized that compared to God— “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.”

            And yet “I can do all things through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).  What God wants to do in us and through us He will do— “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).  Our powerful Lord God Almighty was working in and through Job’s life and yet Job did not think God should be working the way He was in his life.  Job had a better script of life he believed God should be following.  Is that true of us?  Do we think we know better than God? 

            Let us say with Job— “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know” and then “repent” of our sinful thinking.  Then “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.  This will bring healing to your body and refreshment to your bones” (Proverbs 3:5-8).

Dear Father I know so little.  I thank You for what You have revealed to me and my I faithfully live that out in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus.  Then may I trust You to work out Your purposes in and through my life and those around me.  Yes, may it be so!

LORD I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:  “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” —Job 38:1-2

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. —Psalm 145:3

The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. —Psalm 145:13

The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. —Psalm 145:17

            Be careful that you do not think you know better than our Lord God Almighty!  Job was trying to figure out why this was happening to him and why God was against him, but he had it all wrong.  Let us be careful that we do not darken His counsel by “words without knowledge.”  Let us not speak what we do not know nor try to explain what we do not know.

            Truly God’s greatness is unsearchable.  He has revealed in His Word and in His Creation what He desires for us to know.  Let us listen to the counsel of His Word and Creation to speak from that knowledge that we may speak light and not darkness.  He is faithful in all His Works and is to be praised.  Yes, let us praise His wondrous Name for He is righteous in all His ways and in all His works.

            You may not “feel” that is the case, but do not go by feelings.  Go by the Truth of His Word and look at the design of His Creation.  That is the counsel we need and that is the counsel we need to share with others—not the darken counsel of our own “words without knowledge.”  Today, listen to what He has to say.  Today, speak what He has to say to others who need to hear.  Dear Father may this be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JK_6osCH74

THE SELF-EXISTENT ONE

If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?  If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand? —Job 35:6-7

            God is awesomely awesome!  Who can comprehend Him?  He is infinitely greater than we are.  Men have needs in order to survive.  God does not need anything.  Men need others for the human race to go on.  God needs nothing and continues forever!

            When you and I sin it does not change His character at all.  He grieves over our sin (Ephesians 4:30), but He Himself remains unchanged.  When you and I are “good” it does not change His character at all either.  Our goodness or wickedness does not change God.  Yes, our sin grieves Him, but it does not change Him.  He is totally independent of us.  He existed eternally before He created man and this is astounding to us.  Man does not add anything to His character nor His Being— “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  What does He need from us?  Nothing!

            Now here’s the marvel or marvels.  He wants relationship with us.  He created us and He recreates us! (John 3:1-8).  God doesn’t need relationship with us.  He wants us to be in relationship with Him.  This is a truly amazing.  All that God is which is so far above our understanding… and He loves us!  He loves us to the point of sending His only Son to take on a human body to bear witness to the truth, to be treated harshly, to be believed on, to suffer a horrendously torturous death on a cross and to rise from the dead so our wickedness could be forgiven and we could be in relationship with Him forever.  That is like too good to be true!  But it is true!  Hallelujah!  We will be with Him in that perfect place in a short time.  Keep focused on eternity, keep running the race marked out for you.  Be faithful!

Dear Father I am overwhelmed with Your greatness, Your Kindness, Your compassion, Your patience, Your love… Your desire to be in relationship with me.  Oh, out of the gratitude of my heart may I live a life that is pleasing to You in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son, Jesus.  May it be so!

MY BREATH IS IN HIS HANDS

If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. —Job 34:14-15

            The power of God is inconceivable.  Man thinks he knows so much, but in comparison to God we know nothing.  At any time He could gather His spirit and His breath and that would be the end of every living thing on the planet.  Think about that.  In an instant the planet would be completely lifeless if that was God’s desire.  Earth would become a dusty planet.

            “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 144:4).  Life is already short.  One day our breathing will stop.  Brother and sister let us live such a life that when we take our final breath and appear before the Lord we may hear— “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  Yes, let us live for what is good in God’s sight now.  Let us be faithful to His desires now that we would be ready to meet Him when that last breath comes.  So be it…

Dear Father I thank You for the breath of life.  This is truly amazing and I am grateful to live.  May I live to please You in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus and may I encourage many others to do the same.  So be it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-0EgzOWkvc

HE HAS NOT ABANDONED YOU!

Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent, —Job 29:2-4

You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me. —Job 30:21

            When we go through the midst of deep trials our thinking may be all over the place as we try to figure out why this is happening.  We try to make sense out of why difficulty is happening to me and when we cannot do so we may start to think wrongly about God.

            Job did not think God was watching over him as He did in days gone by.  He also thought that His light was not with him as His light was in days gone by— even though he has known God’s light through past difficulties.  He now thought that God was no longer his friend as He was in the past.  Job even took it further as to think that God was now being cruel to him.  He even now thought that God was persecuting him.

            Is this how you feel and think in dark and difficult times?  We know in Job’s life that his wrong thinking about God was not true.  Yes, God was allowing deep difficulties in Job’s life to show that his faith in God was not only determined on his favorable circumstances.  It was Satan that was directly bringing these difficulties.  Satan sought to prove to God that any man would curse God if the difficulties became bad enough in one’s life.  God is showing that this is not the case.  Oh yes, it is true that Job, like us, was not thinking right about what was going on because he did not have the big picture of God’s plan.  He did not have the details of God’s overall purposes and neither do you or I.  We must trust Him for what we do not know.  Will you?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsQmsEE_2-s

Dear Father may I trust You through the difficulties as well as in the easier times.  You do not change and I can fully trust You for that.  Yes, may I trust You at all times in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus.  So be it!

FEAR THE LORD… IS TO HATE EVIL!

 And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ —Job 28:28

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. —Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate —Proverbs 8:13

            Do you and I have a proper perspective on Who our Lord God Almighty is?  If so, that is wisdom.  Wisdom is the proper application of knowledge and will “turn away from evil.”  Fools hate wisdom.  They would rather follow the paths of pride, arrogance, the way of evil and perverted speech.  Those who follow our Lord will hate these, not follow them.

            There are two camps: the saved and the lost, the forgiven and the unforgiven, the guiltless and the guilty, the righteous and the unrighteous, those in the kingdom of Light and those in the kingdom of darkness, those doing the will of God and those doing the will of the devil, saints and sinners, one who has been born-again and one who has only been born…  Yes, there are many ways do describe those who follow the Lord and those who do not.  Repentant and unrepentant sums it up— those who have turned from their sin, their own way to follow His ways or those who are living in their sin, going their own way. 

            May we encourage those who follow our Lord and seek the lost who do not follow our Lord.  Dear Father may this be done in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus.  May it be so! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ35aiGAchc

TRUST!

Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?  They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.  What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ —Job 21:7, 14-15

            Do we look at our lives sometimes and wonder why the wicked are prospering when they want nothing to do with God?  We think, “Why am I having difficultly Lord?  I am following You.  Why am I cut down with health issues in the flower of my age when the wicked live to be old.  Why do I have little influence when the wicked have great power?  I seek to serve You and the wicked don’t.  I talk with You and the wicked believe prayer is a waste of time.  Lord, I belong to You.  Why are things not going well with me?

            Beware of being Job-like in thinking you know how God should be working in and through your life.  God is God and He will do what He desires to accomplish His will.  We have such limited understanding of His ways and do not come close to fully understanding how He is working through all the difficult circumstances of life we go through.  But we know a few things about Him.  He is always good, loving, and compassionate and has our best interests in mind all the time.  We might not even understand what those best interests are.  We know a few things…

            One thing you and I as followers of Jesus need to be absolutely committed to and that is trusting Him with things we do not understand.  Will we?

Dear Father help me to trust You with things, so many things that I do not understand.  I know I can trust You fully.  May I do so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus.

GOD’S CREATION!

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. —Psalm 139:13-16

Let’s contrast what our Lord says about a child in the womb and what the world says.  Remember, the world system is headed up by Satan (II Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-3).  Those in that world system need to come to “their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will” (II Timothy 2:26).  Satan is against God, His people and His creation.  Satan works through people to destroy people.  People are Satan’s captives to do his will!  Abortion is Satan’s will, not God’s.

God “forms” people in the womb; Satan dismantles people in the womb.  God “knits” people together in the womb; Satan disjoins people in the womb.  God “makes” people in the womb; Satan destroys people in the womb.  God “weaves” people in the womb; Satan disconnects people in the womb.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGrYdaKRSCQ

Whose desires are people lining up with?  Whose desires do you line up on the abortion issue—- God’s or Satan’s?  There are no other choices.  We can call the choice something else, but it is a choice to either follow God’s desires or Satan’s desires.  There is no middle road.  We are either going by God’s will or Satan’s will—- God’s Word or Satan’s false promises.  There are only two choices.  Which will you choose— life or death?

Dear Father help me to clearly stand for Your Truth and to do so in a loving way.  May this be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus. 

GOD IS IN CONTROL!

In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. —Job 12:10

 He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. —Job 12:23

            Think about this— every living thing and the very breath of all mankind is in His hand.  Yes, He is in control of all things.  Whether it is an individual cell, person, animal or plant— He knows all about it and He is in control of it.  Whether it is one nation of people or all the nations of this world— He knows all about them and He is in control of them.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE6GNhjS34A&list=RDjE6GNhjS34A&start_radio=1

            There is a slogan out there that says, “Make America Great Again.”  Ultimately, it is the Lord God Almighty that makes nations great.  If He wants to destroy a nation He will.  If He wants to enlarge a nation He will.  If He wants to lead them away He will.  Yes, it is our Lord God Almighty who is ultimately in control.  If He wants to make a nation great He will.

            Those who do not want to live for God or say that God does not exist are as foolish as those who say they are not going to submit to gravity or those who say they do not believe in gravity (Romans 2:8; Psalm 14:1).  Rejection of the truth or denial of the truth does not change that truth is still truth.

            May we take His Truth to individuals and nations that they may know the Truth.  Dear Father may this be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus.  So be it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjtSwSrE8ps

EVER ASK “WHY?”

Why did you bring me out from the womb? —Job 10:18

Job had a good understanding that he was a person in the womb and that it was Almighty God that brought him “out from the womb.”  This is such a basic understanding.  But today as down through the ages basic understandings are not understood.  Sin has so skewed people’s thinking that they “call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).  These people need to “come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will” (II Timothy 2:26).  Their thinking is not right and they are held in Satan’s sway.

            Job was a “me” in the womb.  He was not just some impersonal tissue or blob.  He knew it was God who formed him.

Your hands shaped me and made me.  Will you now turn and destroy me?  Remember that you molded me like clay.  Will you now turn me to dust again?  Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews?  You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit. —Job 10:8-12

            Yes, Job, as David, knew it was Almighty God who formed him in the womb.  David said this of God.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. —Psalm 139:13-16

            Satan works through people to destroy children, whether in or out of the womb.  Satan worked through Pharaoh who wanted all the male babies slaughtered at birth (Exodus 1:15-22).  Herod ordered infanticide (Matthew 2:16).  “And the dragon stood before the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as He was born” (Revelation 12:4).

            And of course, Satan will seek to destroy any person at any age.  Job, as he was going through his difficulty, wondered why God even brought him out of the womb.  When we go through difficulties our thinking has a tendency to rivetly focus on the present hardship, blocking out all else.  When this happens we may even wonder why we were ever born in the first place.  This is what Job was going though.  But, God has purposes we do not understand and we simply have to trust Him as difficult as that might be at times.  Yes, let us trust Him! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pEyQT4xhPM

Dear Father please help me to trust You regardless of the circumstances I find myself in.  May this be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus.  So be it!