verticallife

If someone were to say to you, “I don’t deserve this,” what would you think? Someone might be saying it as a result of all that has happened to him. They lost their job. They found a new one, but it doesn’t make near enough to pay the bills. His son is sick, and he’s not sure where the money will come to cover medical expenses.

Or you might hear someone say, I don’t deserve this,” as a result of the good they have received.

Finally, after days of hearing his friends sound off, God responded. He asked, “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?” (Job 39:1) The answer was an obvious no. He alone is the One who watches over His creation. “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” (Job 40:2)

God’s questions humbled Job. “I am unworthy-how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.” (40:3) I am unworthy. Said another way, I don’t deserve this. Job continued.

“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (42:2-6)

When we come face to face with our own sinfulness, and go from simply hearing about God to seeing and experiencing Him personally, our first response is the need to make things right. When we realize how the cross of Christ removed the penalty of sin, we too realize, “I don’t deserve this.” Repentance is doing a 180. It’s turning our lives around in such a way that we willingly give up our old way of life and turn to God’s way of living.

Today is Maundy Thursday. Maundy simply means mandate and it comes from the mandate Jesus gave on the last night with His disciples: “Love one another.” (see John 13) It was a night like this that Judas betrayed Jesus. It was a night like this that Peter realized how easy it was to deny ever knowing Jesus. It’s a night like this when we realize the ways we too have betrayed and denied Him. “I don’t deserve this.”

Tomorrow we remember Jesus’ crucifixion, how “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:5-7)

We don’t deserve it. We deserve the punishment. After all, our actions deserved discipline. Yet, that’s grace. Justice is getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. He offers us a brand new start, a brand new life. But the story doesn’t end there.

“After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.” (42:10) The end of the story isn’t simply that God blessed Job again. Job prayed for his friends. Job prayed for the same men who have him such a hard time during his hard times. They didn’t deserve it, but they too were forgiven. Are there people in your life who “don’t deserve this?”

“So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves,” God told his friends. “My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly.” (42:8) A sacrifice has already been made. The price has already been paid. Like Job for his friends, we now have one who “is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)

Keeping hope alive is a full time job. As you celebrate the betrayal, the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ this weekend, know that “we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” (Hebrews 6:19)

From two undeserving men… Johnny & Ernie. It’s our hope and our prayer that you will anchor yourself to the only One who is firm and secure: Jesus Christ.

For those local to Dearborn Covenant Church, we have some special gatherings we want to note. Thursday night at 7pm is our annual Maundy (Mandate) Thursday Concert of Prayer. We’ll reflect on the mandate Jesus gave (love one another) as He was in the process of giving Himself for us. We’ll sing, pray, and share in the Lord’s Table. On Friday morning there’s a special Men’s Prayer breakfast for “men” of all ages at 9am. Please contact me on whether you are coming and bringing your boys and what you may be bringing to share (juice, fruit, meat, carbs). Kelly Knezek is heading up pancake flipping! Friday at noon my family and I will be visiting another church for Good Friday service as we have done in the past. I have been trying to get in touch with Citadel of Faith to see if and when they are celebrating Good Friday. I’ll let you know by tomorrow. Sunday morning we’ll fellowship at 9:45 with a continental breakfast and then celebrate our Lord’s Resurrection at 10:30am.

With these devotional letters Ernie Berkas got me writing again, something I love doing. He has challenged me to keep communicating hope by going through the Psalms on a daily basis. Ernie and I will be collaborating again and possibly getting other writers involved. Would you do me a favor? Let us know (honestly) whether these have been helpful in giving you hope during these tough times and whether you would like to continue through the Psalms together.

Lenten Devo_Day 36 “God is Great”

“Behold, God is exalted by His power; who teaches like Him?…Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him…” (Job 36:22,26)

When I (Johnny) was growing up we would always pray a simple prayer before dinner. “God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food. Amen.” We have a new version with our girls. “…and we thank You for our food. By Your hands we shall be fed. Give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen. PRAISE GOD!” Michelle’s brother Rex added the PRAISE GOD.

Ernie wrote, “God is great and God is good but that may have little to do with us unless we as individuals have a relationship with that God. The devil recognized God was great. But the devil did not recognize Jesus Christ (James 2:19). Jesus said, ‘no one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (John 14:6)

Though God may be great, do we recognize or trust in His greatness in everyday life? Are we practical atheists, believing in God with our mind but not knowing Him in daily experience?

Paul said, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things… I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:8-11)

“Knowing” throughout Scripture carries with it the sense of experiencing a person intimately. What will you do today, in the midst of “sharing in his sufferings,” to “know Christ” and intimately experience “the power of his resurrection?” In what area of your life today do you need to apply “the power of his resurrection” to?

“For God does speak – now one way, now another – though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.” (Job 33:14-18)Though there were many times when Job’s friends simply didn’t get it, there were times they were right. Truth is, God does speak, whether we want to listen to Him or not. He does try to get our attention. Elihu was right. God does speak.

What was false at this point though was that Elihu was thinking God was trying to get Job’s attention because of the sin in his life. Elihu still believed that nothing bad would happen to good people. Job must have done something to deserve this.

Repeating his words Elihu said, “Job says, ‘I am innocent, but God denies me justice.’” (34:5) He then leveled an accusation. “He keeps company with evildoers; he associates with wicked men.” (34:9) You see, “He repays a man for what he has done; he brings upon him what his conduct deserves,” right? God is just. People get what they deserve, right? It’s not that easy. Just because your husband left you doesn’t mean God is punishing you for something you did. The reason you lost your job doesn’t mean God is putting you through some form of discipline. When a friend betrays your trust, it doesn’t mean God is trying to get your attention.

Jesus said, “in this world you will have trouble.” You will have trouble. That’s the problem with our world. It rains (or in our case, it snows) on the righteous and unrighteous alike. We will face fears. Problems will press in. “You will have trouble,” Jesus said. But our hope is in his next statement. “…but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Maybe you’re going through tough times. Maybe you have “friends” like Job: “So Job opens His mouth with empty talk; without knowledge he multiplies words.” (35:16) Maybe there are people around you giving you false information. Know this. Our hope is in the One who overcame the world. When you place your trust in Him, you will find hope in Him.

“My prayer is not that You would take them out of the world but that You would protect them from the evil one.” (John 17:15) That’s our prayer as well.

“But there is spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice.” (Job 32:8-9)

Eliju had a passion for authority. Questioning Job’s wisdom, understanding, and maybe even his sanity, Eliju essentially accused Job of being old and out of touch. Eliju had waited to speak to Job because his other three friends were older than he was. He finally couldn’t take it anymore. He had to speak up.

“I am young in years, and you are old.” I could just hear Job saying, “gee, thanks.” Eliju continued. “…that is why I was fearful, not wanting to tell you what I know. I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’” Maybe it should. Maybe great men (and women) should be wise. Yet simply because someone is old doesn’t make him wise, anymore than someone who is young has nothing to say.

However, you just have to laugh at Eliju’s comments.

“For I am full of words and the spirit within me compels me; inside I am like bottled up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst.” (Job 32:18-19)

You’ve got to be kidding me. Do you know anyone like this? When they come near you think, “I know he has something to say.” They have more a knack for speaking their mind than keeping it to themselves.

Let’s just be honest for a moment. Do you find yourself truly listening to someone or thinking about what to say next while they’re talking to you? Someone like Job really needs you to simply listen. What can you do today to lend someone a listening ear?

“Let me be weighed on honest scales, that God may know my integrity.” (Job 31:6)
   Job believed God was not punishing him for sin. His God certainly knew his troubles, and Job knew God could do something about it. Though his problems persisted, and though he still didn‘t quite understand what was happening, Job still trusted God. He trusted some day he would understand.
   Waiting for “someday” is not easy for us North Americans. We want results now. We want understanding now. We want solutions now. To be honest, maybe we even wanted them yesterday. Though Job‘s problems persisted, so did he. Are you able to persist even if you don‘t see the end in sight?

“But now they mock me… Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them… They contribute to my destruction… Now my life is poured out before my eyes, and days of suffering have seized me.” (pieces of Job 30)

So you think you’ve had a bad day? There are always others who have been through worse. But that’s not what we want to hear. It doesn’t matter what others have been through. At times we feel alone in what we’re going through.

As one set of circumstances leads to another… the car breaks down… the house needs more fixing up… we tend to get tunnel vision and start thinking, “this isn’t fair.” “Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?” (30:25) “Look at all the good I’ve done,” we think. “I don’t deserve this.”

This week we will begin turning our attention on the suffering Savior. Jesus was mocked. He suffered not for His own sin nor to be perfected. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.” Since we have One who suffered for us, “let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

“He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. He binds up the water in His thick clouds, yet the clouds are not broken.” (Job 26:7-8)

There are things in nature we don’t understand and can’t explain. If God created nature, how can we explain Him? Psalm 139:11-14 says “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’ event the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your words, and that my sould knows very well.”

Do you know how precious you are to Him? You are handcrafted by God. You are His workmanship that He is extremely proud of. No matter what is happening around you or in you, never forget how special you are to Him. Bob Hoey, a close pastor friend of Johnny’s, has said, “You are so special to Him He has a picture of you in His wallet.

Though Bildad is using this question as a statement of Job’s character, as an assessment of his life, it’s still a good question. How can a person get right with God? What do you have to do to make things right with him?The Apostle Paul answered that question when writing to believers in Rome. Paul wasn’t ashamed of the message of Jesus Christ because he saw in that message the power to transform people’s lives (Romans 1:16), his included. All of us are in the same boat, being without excuse. Though we know God exists, we do not glorify Him as God (Romans 1:20-21). When we exchange God’s truth for a lie (Romans 1:25) we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s standards (Romans 3:23).

How can a person be justified? How can one get right before God? We have been “declared righteous by faith; we have peace with God thorugh our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) God provided a way for us to get right by proving “His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8) At some point we realize that the “wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Whether you are Job or Bildad, you are justified by faith in Christ. We are “unable to please God” (Romans 8:8) on our own. We have to fully rely on, trust in, believe in the sacrifice of the life of Christ. Use this 40 day period as a time of reflection on what needs to die in your life (Romans 8:5-11; 12:1-2) so you can experience real abundant life (John 10:10).

For those of you local to Dearborn Covenant Church, we will have some great ways to remember God’s love lavished on us. April 5 is Palm Sunday 10:30am, where we celebrate Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. We remember His celebration of Passover with His disciples and the night He gave His mandate to love one another on Maundy (mandate) Thursday 7pm. There’s a gentleman’s (all ages, boys to men) prayer breakfast on Good Friday morning at 9am. We’ll visit another church for Good Friday service that afternoon (TBA). Resurrection Sunday morning we’ll have a continental breakfast fellowship at 9:45 (no Sunday School) and worship celebration at 10:30am.

“Look, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive Him…But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:8,10)

We’ll be honest. Sometimes when we’re struggling we do not feel like God is there. We’re tempted to not pray because we see it as a waste of time and energy.

Job was looking for God through prayer. He looked for help when he was at wits’ end. What he went through was stated later when it was written, “Their soul fainted in them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble.” (Psalm 107:5-6) One of Jesus’ closest disciples wrote, “now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14) We do not get insight by struggling, but by going to God in prayer.

“The memory of him perishes from the earth, and he has no name among the renowned… Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him who does not know God.” (Job 18:17,21)

Have you ever been abandoned? Have you ever felt abandoned? That’s the way Job must have felt as his friends abandoned him. Bildad at this point was withdrawing his friendship. Bildad was certain he was right and that he knew why Job was suffering. It was logical, right? If Job sinned he should be punished. But sometimes logic does not give the facts. In this case the “facts” are tragic, not logical. Job believed in God but could not articulate God’s virtue at the present time. Bildad can’t point to a gross sin in Job, so he must be a hypocrite. There must be some sin in Job to explain the facts.

When you feel alone or have been abandoned, though the “facts” don’t line up and life seems illogical, rest in the one who has said through the ages, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)

“But I should speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God…. Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.” (Job 13:3,15)

This was the core of Job’s belief. He was willing to die for it. He believed in a God he couldn’t define. God would be there when he died. In the very end, Job knew God would demonstrate that He was just. Sin and war are absolutely unjustifiable. Greed and world economic meltdown are not part of God’s plan. This has to be our outlook in 2009, “If He takes my job, my house, my retirement savings, yet will I trust Him” We cannot explain our sufferings by saying, “We are being punished because we have done wrong,” or “We are suffering because we need to be perfected.” – Ernie

Zophar felt like he had to speak up. “Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be vindicated? Should your empty talk make men hold their peace? And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?” (Job 11:2,3)Zophar believed he was an expert in spiritual matters. Do you find it difficult to be around people who think they are experts in a certain area of life but are not? Some people have something to say about everything. They haven’t learned the truth behind the fact that we have two ears and one mouth, that we ought to listen twice as much as we talk.

Jesus said the spiritual expert is “whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:4) There are no experts in spiritual things. Zophar implied he knew the kind of integrity that would stand before God and before man. What he said was impertinent advice to a man who was broken hearted. Zophar showed religious indignation that he was attributing to God. Zophar thought he needed to speak up for God.

Those who befriend and counsel others need to remember they are not God, nor do their words necessarily come from God. It’s a good idea to surround ourselves with wise counsel (Proverbs 15:22). But we still need to test what has been told us (1 John 4:1). Examine what you are told or how you counsel others after you examine the Scriptures (Acts 17:11).

Ernie & Johnny

“Remember, I pray, that you have made me like clay. And will You turn me into dust again?… You have granted me life and favor, and Your care has preserved my spirit.” (Job 10:9,12)

Job now faces rejection by God and he doesn’t know the reason why. He refuses to lie so that his friends will be right in their assessment. He refuses to say that he must have committed some sin that brought this on. He is honest when he says he doesn’t understand. He continues to pray. He is continuing his relationship with God. He gives God the credit for the life and the spirit he still has. Job is looking for a refuge and that refuge is God.

No matter how much has been taken from us, can we still thank God for what we DO have?

You’ve heard the term, “with friends like these who needs enemies.” I think Job’s friends did their best work when they simply sat with him and said nothing. But, Bildad couldn’t keep his mouth shut for long.

“How long will you speak these things, and the words of your mouth be like a strong wind? Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice?” (Job 8:2-3) Bildad uses questions to try to get answers from Job that agree with Bildad’s concept of how God acts.  Job is saying his problem cannot be repaired by being more perfect. We, like Job, cannot have our problems solved by being more righteous. We need redemption. We need Jesus Christ. Job could not do it be himself, and neither can we.

Bildad has a creed; he worships that creed; he has not met the real God; he never prays to God for Job. Think about that. In all the words of the book of Job, his friends offer no prayers for him. Just counsel. How can you offer counsel when you have no relationship with the Counselor (John 14:15-16)? When all you have is an outward creed of beliefs and it does nothing to affect (and infect) the heart, all you have is religion, not relationship. We need relationship.

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope. Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good.” (Job 6:6-7)

 Have you ever had days where it seemed like the situation you were in was completely hopeless? You just don’t seem to have anything left. Nothing left to give. Nothing left to fight for.  How appropriate are Oswald Chambers’ words today: “Job suffered in this way, and many people are doing so today on account of the war. We all experience these things in a passing mood, but with Job it is no mood, he is facing the real basis of life.”

When we are in the center of a storm is usually not the time we hold out the most hope. All we see is the trouble before us, the obstacle in front of us, the problems that are ahead of us. Though right now you may be feeling like Job, “I will never again see good,” do as he did. “I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” (6:11) Take your complaints to God. He won’t be surprised by your feelings. If you “complain in the bitterness of” your soul to God, you might find that you won’t have any more complaints when it comes to those around you (whether you’re complaining to them or about them).

You may not always find comfort when you complain to others or about others. You will find comfort when you take your cares to Him. (Nahum 1:7; 1 Peter 5:7)

In Job chapter 5 we read “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.” (5:17-18) Is this what God was doing to Job. Job’s friends tended to believe that if Job was struggling, if he was sick, if he had come to financial ruin, he must have done something to deserve it. And if he did, God was correcting him.

Granted, it’s great to have a Father who looks out for us and disciplines us when we need it. Children always test the waters and bump the boundaries with their parents. But when they know there are lines they shouldn’t cross, it gives them a sense of security. Yet, is this what was happening with Job?

Sometimes we suffer. Paul said the godly will suffer persecution. God is at work when people have given up on self and unable to see a future. The Son of Man is ocming at an hour we least expect. If our suffering is great and we can’t see God, He is there anyway. God is greater than what I know about Him, greater than a man’s creed, greater than theology, even greater than our relationship with Him. This was the God that Job worshipped despite his troubles.

It could be what you are going through has to do with God’s discipline. He loves His children too much not to correct them. Take some time with your heavenly Father today. Though you might not know what the future holds, you do know who holds the future.

“Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?” (Job 4:17)

Eliphaz believed that the punishment Job was experiencing was the teaching that sin would result in punishment. In his mind, Job’s present punishment was related to some sin he must have committed. This is what Job himself had taught. Eliphaz was judging; he was presupposing what God would do. He believed God would bless a good man and not bless a bad man.

Jesus was proof that even the righteous suffer. We say in our minds or even out loud, “that’s not fair.” How parents have told their children, “life’s not fair.” Fifty-five year old men who lived a pretty clean life do die of cancer. People who have smoked all their lives live well into their eighties. There are consequences of sin, but just because someone is suffering does not mean God has it in for them. That’s what Job’s friends thought.

Whether things are going good or bad, keep looking up. Stay in relationship with God. We’ll remind you again, Jesus said that in this world we will have troubles, “but take heart. I have overcome the world.” Don’t lose heart.

“After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born.” (Job 3:1) Job knew nothing of Jesus Christ. There was nothing but despair. There was no silver lining. There was no road back to yesterday. WE know, the Bible reveals, that the only way out is through redemption. Redemption comes with a personal relationship to God; it is not a faith in a creed or belief statement or concept of God. Job did not reason his way to a solution. It was after he realized there was no other way than the one God would supply.

The method that has been supplied to us is the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ – called redemption. Despite all that happens, we, like Job have a hope and like Job can face the future.

Job was depressed. To be depressed was not considered sin. Who is Job talking to when he wishes he had never been born? Why could Job not see the bright side of grief?

I have known people who have been so depressed that they speak of tunnel vision – you only see one thing. Have you ever been there? Have you ever been so down that you wished you had never been born? Do what Job did. We believe he was telling God. God will not be surprised by our feelings.

Do as David did once. He spoke to himself. “Why so downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God.” (Psalm 42:11) No matter how down you are about how things are going in your life, tell God about it.

(Dr. Ernie Berkas is an inspiration to me. He was chief of staff at Oakwood Hospital here in Dearborn, but I believe his greatest “job” is the one he is doing now. He is a minister. No, he’s not ordained. But I believe that if the Holy Spirit is in you, you have a ministry (1 Corinthians 12-14). Ernie has been reading a book by Oswald Chambers called “Our Ultimate Refuge.” Chambers writings would also be published as the widely read “My Utmost For His Highest.” It is our hope that you will find your hope in Christ Jesus. He has changed both of our lives forever.

Much of what you’ll read in these thoughts will be his, but I’ll add my thoughts here and there. He didn’t want me to mention him at all. Sorry Ernie. Though you might never use these terms to describe yourself, you have become an example of Jesus to your lovely bride Mary, your family, your friends and your faith family here at Dearborn Covenant. As pastor, thank you for your prayers, your support, your ideas, and that energy that doesn’t seem to quit. To put it simply, I want to be like you when I grow up).

Oswald Chambers was a British army chaplain during WW1. In early 1917, he gave a series of lectures in Egypt to people serving there. His wife took notes with no plan of publication. The book of Job was the text of his lectures. In November of 1917, Chambers died. His wife and friends took those lectures and published them as a book called “Our Ultimate Refuge.”

          Chambers had the advantage of knowing that Jesus Christ had lived and died after the book of Job was written. Therefore in 1917 and in 2009, when there is suffering that is hard to explain, there needs to be a search for the same hope that Job possessed. It is that same hope that Jesus gave to those who were suffering.

          It is the plan of these writings (whether you see them in print, in email, or on Johnny’s blog at www.ispeaklife.net) to point out where hope can be found by people suffering when the cause is not apparent. We aim to present the importance of hope in the face of increasing pain. We believe that hope is necessary to cope. We believe that not every cloud has a silvery lining; some clouds are all black. We are not blind when we cannot see the bright side of everything.

          Paul encouraged “those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1 Timothy 6:17) Where are you placing your hope? Where do you find hope? “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) In his first letter to his protégé, Paul noted that “Christ Jesus (is) our hope.” (1 Timothy 1:1) My hope is built on nothing less!

 WHERE SHALL WE FIND HOPE_Day One: God and Satan Talk About Job

Job lived during the patriarchal period and was probably a contemporary of Isaac, Jacob or Joseph. Job is the first of five poetic books and is the first of the three classified as Wisdom Literature. Within its 42 chapters, God and Satan talk about Job in the heavenly realms. Satan was given permission to subject Job to suffering in ways that Job could not understand. He had four friends who visited, attempting to console him.

          Job, from Uz, was the greatest man in the East. He had 7 sons and 3 daughters. He was upright, feared God and shunned evil. He trusted God and because of that trust, God would prosper him His creed was that he believed God would prosper an upright man. It is important to note that his trust was in God, not his creed.

          Satan thought differently. He thought Job was God fearing because God blessed him. Take away God’s blessing and you’ll take away Job’s desire be with God, follow Him and fear Him. That’s what the enemy thought. “Take away God’s blessing and Job will be thorugh with God.”

          Is that what you need? Do we need God’s blessing to continue to trust Him? We have had a revelation of God in Jesus Christ. Do we see God’s love by reading, meditating and following the words of Jesus Christ? The control of all that Job owned was in the control of Satan (1:12). God gave that control to Satan.

Jesus tells us “life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15) Because Job didn’t know of Christ, there was despair. He knew nothing after a lifetime on earth. The patience of Job (James 5:11), mentioned by the brother of Jesus tells us Job was patient with God. He didn’t like what was happening but he didn’t blame God.

Where is your hope?