Wednesday 29 February – Job 39
The World is in Whose Hands?
A while ago I came across a jokey definition of the word “Godsend” which was, “Best left to Him while we look after ours!”¹ Think about it!!
Once again God is addressing us today about our unfortunate tendency to take over His job of running the universe. In the series of questions God poses to Job in today’s chapter, He is making the point that He sees and understands what ordinary human beings don’t see and don’t understand. As Paul put it in Rom.11:34, “For who has known the mind of the Lord and who has understood His thoughts, or who has [ever] been His counsellor?” (Amp. Bible). God is challenging Job to trust Him, not to try and reason things out with his mind, nor to get frustrated because things are not working out the way he thinks they should, but simply to rest in peace knowing that God is in control.
We can waste a lot of time and energy trying to hold up God’s end when we should be minding our own business. It is not your responsibility to sort out a friend’s problem, or to change your adult child’s lifestyle, or to make your husband a Christian. Of course, it is good to pray about these things, and if God specifically tells us to say or do something we must be obedient, but beyond that point we need to let go. Sometimes we wear ourselves out taking responsibility that is not ours, and we lose our joy because we are so focused on problems.
Little children are carefree because they know Mum and Dad will take care of the big issues of life, while they enjoy being a child. We must learn to be like little children (Matt.18:3-4). I am not, of course, advocating childish irresponsibility, but we do need to be clear about what is ours to manage and what is not. If we do our part we can safely leave the rest to our Father in Heaven (Matt.18:3-4).
Prayer:
* Acknowledge God as the One whose ways are far higher than our ways and whose thoughts go far beyond what we can comprehend.
* Commit to God any situation or person you have been worrying about.
Tuesday 28 February – Job 38
That’s God’s Job
When I worked as a Classroom Assistant in an infants’ school there were clear limits to my responsibilities. It was not my job to hire and fire staff. It was not for me to decide how much the school fees should be. It was not necessary, or appropriate, for me to have access to the personal details of all the children and staff in the school. These things were the responsibility of the management team and the governors, and I could safely leave such weighty matters in their hands, while I got on with the job I was employed to do.
It seems to me that God is saying something similar to Job in our reading today. Job wanted God to answer his questions and even to be accountable for His decisions. But God (who has responded to Job’s desire to talk with Him) has a different agenda. He wants Job to understand his place in the scheme of things. Job is not God and he cannot expect to know or understand all that God does. God sees and plans for eternity. Job’s life, like yours and mine, was just a small speck in the total scheme of things.
So what is God saying to us today? I think He wants us to realise how often we try to take His role, both in our own lives and those of people around us. We think we know what is best, so we make decisions without consulting Him. We want to make things happen so we push at things with no regard to God’s plans and purposes. We see other people’s problems and think we know how to put things right, so we blunder in with our thoughts on the matter, bringing confusion instead of healing. God is challenging us to let Him take control of our lives, to humble ourselves and submit to His ways. We need to stop trying to run the world and let God do it. He will do a much better job than us!
Prayer:
* Ask God to show you any way in which you have been trying to take control of your own life, or anyone else’s. Repent of anything He shows you and submit to Him.
* Praise and worship our great big God.
Monday 27 February – Job 37
Stand Still and Consider Go
Although Elihu continues to be rather self-righteous and critical of Job, he does give him a piece of good advice in v.14 – one that we would do well to mediate on today. He has been speaking about God’s power as it is manifested in mighty thunderstorms, and he urges Job to “stand still and consider the wondrous works of God”.
Have you ever gone for a walk and got hopelessly lost? The more you try to find your way, the more confused you seem to get. Sometimes it is necessary to stop, take out your compass, turn the map round the right way and work out exactly where you are. Once you have got your bearings, you can set out again – in the right direction this time – and find your way to your destination.
I don’t know about you, but I find that sometimes life can be like that. We get bogged down in situations, and the more we try to press through them, the more we seem to get in a mess. Sometimes we just need to stop a while and focus again on the character and works of God. As we do that, the issue we are wrestling with takes on a new perspective and we begin to see our way through more clearly.
Are you feeling pressured right now? Are you busy rushing around, trying to keep up with all the things that need to be done? Why not take a few slow deep breaths and then read through this chapter again slowly to remind yourself of the greatness of God. Then take time to focus your attention on Him, and listen for anything He may want to say to you before you continue on your way. You might just find that some of the things that seemed so urgent suddenly seem less important than they did before.
Prayer:
* Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
* Praise and thank God for who He is and what He has done.
* Submit your time to God and ask for His guidance and help with the things that are pressing in on you.
Sunday 26 February – Job 36
God is Mighty, Yet Despises No-one
As Elihu continues with his argument he somehow manages to combine a young man’s confidence (which sounds perilously close to arrogance at times!) with a recognition that even he cannot begin to understand more than a tiny fraction of God and His purposes (v.26).
However, the statement that I think we should focus on today is found in v.5. In the Amplified Bible it reads, “Behold God is mighty and yet despises no-one, nor regards anything as trivial.” I am reminded again that the awesome, mighty Creator God, the Sovereign of the universe, knows about every tiny detail of my little life. It is a fact that is almost impossible to believe, yet the Bible states it clearly. Do you remember what Jesus said about it? “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet, not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matt.10:29-30, NIV).
We are all familiar with these verses, yet we so easily start to believe that God has forgotten us. But God sees your going out and your coming in (Psalm 121:8). He even sees the things you do in secret (Matt. 6:4,15,18). If you are trying to hide things from God, this is bad news! He sees everything; there is nowhere to run (Psalm 139:7). But if you are seeking to please God and you sometimes wonder if He notices you, or if you are going through a tough time and God seems far away, or if you are concerned for someone else who seems to be going off-track, then this is good news. He knows exactly what is going on in your life and the lives of those you are concerned for – and at the right time He will act.
Prayer:
* Praise and worship the all-seeing and all-knowing God.
* Pray for anyone you know of who is not on-track with God.
* Pray for the church in our nation as Christians gather together today to worship.
Saturday 25 February – Job 35
A Friend of God
Many of us love to sing the song that declares, “I am a friend of God,” but today’s reading got me wondering how good a friend of God I really am.
If you were to ask people in the street for a definition of a friend, I guess they would say something along the lines of, “A person who is there for you through good things and bad.” Verses 9-11 remind us that, like God’s people of the past, we are far more likely to give Him lots of time and attention when we are In need of His help. Then, when He has sorted out our problem, we tend to carry on in our own sweet way until our wrong choices get us in a mess again. Eventually, as the Israelites found out to their cost, God’s patience comes to an end and He turns His face away (v.12).
Even if we are not as rebellious and arrogant as the Israelites often were, it is easy for us to treat God as someone who is there to meet our needs, rather than asking Him what He wants from us.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:13-14, NIV). God is looking for those who are willing to be His true friends – those who show their love for Him by their obedience, rather than just their talk.
I want to encourage you today not to take friendship with God lightly. He is faithful and loving towards us day in and day out, and He offers us the awesome privilege of being called His friends. We need to ask ourselves, “Am I truly a friend of God?”.
* Thank God that He is such a faithful and loving friend to you.
* Ask God to help you be a good friend to Him.
* Pray that God would help you in your human friendships too.
Friday 24 February – Job 34
Test Everything; onto the Good
Much of Elihu’s argument sounds depressingly familiar. Like those who spoke before him, he assumed Job was being punished for his sins and chose his words accordingly. But he does begin this chapter with some wise words, which I believe God wants us to learn from today. In vv.3-4 we read, “For the ear tries words as the palate tastes food. Let us choose for ourselves that which is right” (Amp. Version).
I remember when my granddaughter was being weaned. Every time she was given some solid food on the end of a spoon she tested it very carefully. If she decided that it was good, she swallowed it down and opened her mouth wide for the next spoonful. If she decided she did not like it she spat it out and clamped her lips together, making it quite clear that she didn’t want any more of that nasty stuff thank you very much!
In this passage we are encouraged to show similar discernment about what we hear. We are bombarded with words, all day, every day, from the people we meet and from the media. Much of what we hear is not good, and yet often we keep listening, until eventually our thinking starts to be shaped by what is being said. As Christians we have a responsibility to be weighing up what we are listening to. Does it line up with the truth of God’s Word? If not, then we should not be passively listening to it. We either need to challenge what is being said or walk away. Otherwise we will find ourselves displeasing God by, for example, being involved in gossip, or valuing ourselves according to what others say about us, or choosing what to buy because of what we have heard on TV.
We are called to, “Test everything. Hold onto what is good.” (1 Thess.5:21) – and we need to ditch the rest!
Prayer:
* Pray that God would help you to have discerning ears and the wisdom and boldness to act correctly when you are exposed to something you should not be listening to.
* Pray for our young people, that they would be able to stand against the ungodly influences they are exposed to in school and college.
Thursday 23 February – Job 33
God Speaks, but are we Listening?
Elihu showed a genuine concern for Job. He really desired to see Job’s relationship with God restored, and he was less judgmental of him than the older men had been. However, like the previous speakers, he misunderstood the claims Job was making and was ignorant of the reasons for Job’s suffering, so his words did not help as he thought they would.
However, even though much of what he said was not relevant to Job’s case, he did say many things that were true. I was particularly struck by his affirmation in v.14 that God speaks in various ways, though men may not always perceive it. We know that God speaks by various means, for example through dreams or impressions in our minds, through Scripture or even an audible voice. Jesus said that His sheep would listen for, recognise and follow His voice (John 10:3-4) and it is vital as Christians that we hear and obey what God is saying to us.
But to hear God, we have to be “tuned in”, just as we tune our radio or TV sets to pick up the signal for the programme we want to hear or watch. I don’t know about you, but I am sometimes so busy getting on with life as I think best, that my tuning slips and I forget to listen for what God has to say to me. I am challenged today to make sure that I am listening out for God’s voice every day, so that my life stays on track with Him.
How about you? Do you need to adjust your tuning too?
Prayer:
* If you have not been listening for God’s voice, or if you find it hard to hear Him speak, pray that He would fulfil His promise of John 10:3-4 in your life.
* Ask God to give you a word today with which you can bless someone else.
Wednesday 22 February – Job 32
The Spirit Gives Wisdom
A younger man, Elihu, now joins the conversation. He has been listening respectfully to his elders, but now they have talked themselves to a standstill he feels that it is his turn to speak. As he has listened to the older men debating he has become angry partly with Job, who he feels is more interested in defending himself than God, but also with those reasoning with him because they have not been able to say anything to make Job see things differently.
Elihu is bursting to speak, but he is concerned that the older men may see him as a young upstart with nothing worthwhile to say. So he prefaces his speech with a key statement: “It is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding” (v.8, NIV). And he goes on to point out that by this reckoning a young man may understand as much as an older one. His listeners were likely to judge the worth of someone’s opinion by their outward appearance – in this case, their age – rather than by how much of God’s Spirit was ruling in their hearts. Maybe we sometimes think like that too? Do we miss out on things God wants to say to us sometimes because we do not respect the person He uses as His messenger?
God told Jeremiah that he should not think himself too young for the job he was being called to, because he would be equipped by the Spirit of God (Jer.1:6-8). Likewise, Paul told Timothy that he should not let others look down on him because of his age, because he was anointed by God to be a leader in His church (1 Tim.4:12). God gives His Spirit to whom He chooses (1 Cor.12:11), irrespective of age and also without regard to intelligence, gender, racial background, social position or any other criteria. If you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour and Lord, you have the Holy Spirit living in you. Do you have the same confidence that Elihu had, that God can use you?
Prayer:
* Praise and thank God that you have His Holy Spirit living in you and that He wants to use you for His kingdom purposes no matter how others see you.
* If you have been guilty of judging others by their age or any other outward thing, repent now and ask God to help you see people as He does.
* Pray for your cell group meeting tonight, that God would minister through each member of the group, not just the leaders.
Tuesday 21 February – Job 31
Living a Good Life
Throughout Job’s defence he has maintained that he has not sinned. In this chapter he gives us a glimpse of his life and shows us the basis for his claim of integrity. He has done his best to live up to God’s standards, and his evaluation of his life provides us with a good checklist against which to measure our own lives.
The first area Job mentions is the area of sexual purity (v.1). He has made a choice not to put himself in a position where he will be tempted to sin. Have you made the same choice? Are you sexually pure in the way you relate to other people, in your thoughts, in the programmes or films you watch or the magazines you read?
Then Job reflects on the fact that he has been honest in all his dealings with other people (vv.5-6). Can you say the same, or do you sometimes lie or try to cover things up? Job also reflects on the fact that he has treated his employees fairly (vv.13-15). If you are an employer, do you treat your employees with respect? Or, as an employee, do you work hard, respect your boss and work well with your colleagues?
Job remembers that when he was prosperous, he took care of those who were poor (vv.16-23). What about you? Are you concerned for the weak members of society? What are you doing to help them? Job is also sure that he guarded himself against materialism and other forms of idolatry (vv.24-28). How does your life match up? Is there anything in your life – money, possessions, people, reputation, etc. – that is more important to you than God?
Then Job mentions that he has not gloated over the misfortunes of other people (vv.29-30). How about you? Have you ever been glad to see someone get what you thought they deserved? Lastly, Job mentions that he has been hospitable to strangers. This is another challenge for us. Do you open your home to all sorts of people or just those whose company you enjoy and who are in a position to return the favour?
I found this a challenging list to consider. What is God showing you about your life?
Prayer:
* Prayerfully evaluate your life according to these standards. Pray about any areas that God highlights, repenting of any sin and asking God to help you live in a way that honours Him.
Monday 20 February – Job 30
Judging by Appearances
In this chapter Job laments the fact that he is despised, even by those who are the lowest in society (v.1). Job is still the person he was when he was esteemed an important and influential man. But then he was rich and strong. Now he is poor and afflicted with a very unpleasant disease. Because his circumstances have changed, those who once would hardly have dared to speak to him, now feel free to mock him and despise him.
Why is it that we judge people by appearances? We all know that we should not “judge a book by its cover”, yet that is what we all tend to do. Even walking down a street we make up our minds about the people we walk past though we haven’t exchanged a word with them!
James had to correct the church members of his day because they were judging people on the basis of their appearance (James 1:1-13). They were jumping up and giving up the best seats when someone well-dressed and obviously rich came through the door, but taking no notice of the poor. James made it very clear that showing favouritism in such a way is sinful and displeasing to God.
You may feel that you would not discriminate like that between the rich and the poor so this word is not for you. But we need to be careful. We all have something that we don’t like in others. For example, we may despise the way some people dress, or the way they talk, or their educational status or the way they discipline their children.
It is never right to judge other people by these external things. We are all equal in God’s sight and are all made in God’s image. Are there any prejudices in your thinking that you need to lay down?
Prayer:
* Thank God that He has accepted you, warts and all!
* Repent of occasions when you have judged people by their outward appearance and ask God to help you get rid of all prejudices.
* Pray that Ruwach Christian Church would be a place where everyone feels welcome and valued.