Job looked back at the man he used to be before the onset of his suffering. He remembered the respect he received for the good deeds he had done. These memories merely aggravated him as he considered the pain of his present situation. Little did he know that the sufferings he was experiencing would serve to teach and encourage the many who would read his story after his life. Little did he know that God would come through and reward him for his suffering and would more than make up to him what he had lost.

Life presents its challenges. We don’t yet see what our future holds, but we can be assured that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes and reward us with things that our eyes haven’t seen and our minds haven’t conceived.

Job’s end was fabulous. Ours will be too.

READ/HEAR: Job 27-29

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were Job’s three friends who came to spend time with him and try to console him with their limited wisdom. Empathetically, they mourned with him while he was in his distress. They were, no doubt, all men of position and wealth.

Eliphaz may have been the first-born son of Esau, and represented the wisdom of the Edomites. He was the first to speak, but was found lacking in his views by God.

Bildad was a descendant of Shuah, a son of Abraham and Keturah. Intending to console Job,  he eventually accused him of doing something to deserve God’s wrath.

Zophar was more hot-headed than the others, holding that Job MUST have done something to deserve God’s punishment. He also was wrong and somewhat unmerciful.

When we go through things, people will offer their advice and try to be your “helper.” Often they are wrong. Go straight to God’s Word and let Him be your Comforter. That’s what the Holy Spirit does.

READ/HEAR:  Job 23-26

Among all the wise and unwise counsel offered to Job from his “friends,” there are some gems. One such quote is from Eliphaz encouraging the memorization of scripture.

We fill our hearts with so much emptiness. The media floods us with meaningless amusement and our addictive appetite for enjoyment responds. For many, it is time to push on the pause button and evaluate the vanity our heart has been feeding upon.

Suggestion: try substituting some scripture memory for a portion of our media diet.

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. -Joshua 1:8

READ/HEAR: Job 20-22

Bildad, the Shuhite … and then there’s Nehemiah (Knee-high-miah)

With “comforters” like Job’s, who needs enemies?

When tongues rise up against us, God will vindicate us.

My God, whom I praise,
    do not remain silent,
for people who are wicked and deceitful
    have opened their mouths against me;
    they have spoken against me…  Ps.109:1,2

READ/HEAR: Job 17-19

As Job was in the midst of his afflictions, it became apparent to him that God was teaching him through his sufferings. Ultimately, God would lift him out of his dilemma, but there was a process to endure before the end.

We all have life experiences that teach us about God, about ourselves, and about getting along with others. We can turn to our own ability to figure it out, or we can turn to God’s Word and let Him lovingly guide us through our challenges.

We have a Friend Who sticks closer than a brother. It is Christ Jesus.

READ/HEAR: Job 14-16

Job rightly declared, “In (God’s) hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” [ch. 12:10]

Maintaining the balance of the world, keeping the oceans in their space, holding the stars in their orbits, knowing the inner thoughts of every human who has ever lived … God’s great power and control can’t even be fathomed by our pea-sized intellects. Yet, He chooses to make Himself known to us through the overwhelming and undeserved love of Christ Jesus. How can it be?

And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?  

-Charles Wesley

READ/HEAR: Job 10-13

In Job’s distress, he cried out to God and said, “If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together,  someone to remove God’s rod from me.”

We now know that someone was Christ Jesus. Job’s story and his dialogue reveal the quest of the entire Old Testament … men need a Savior to remove their sin and guilt from them.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Rom. 8:32

READ/HEAR:  Job 6-9

When Job’s children and possessions were violently removed from him, he proceeded to express his pain with words obviously published so others could become aware of his suffering. Was it a lack of faith in God? Was it his right to open up and express the torture he was experiencing? Eliphaz counseled him by saying, “If I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.”

King David was another who frequently voiced his personal pain and frustration to God and published it.

The writings of both of these men have given countless Christians evidence that a Godly life has its struggles. Yet, God is always present to listen, comfort, correct, and restore.

Jesus said, “In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”  John 16:33

READ/HEAR: Job 3-5

Suffering is an element of life. No one has an issue-free life. There will be challenges to our journey sooner or later.

When the challenges come we have a decision to make … will we react in the defense of our flesh that is pained, or will we respond in a godly fashion that essentially puts a stop to our course of retribution?

Christ was tempted in every point, yet didn’t sin. With Him living in us, He will guide our path in righteousness after we have made the decision to do it His way.

READ/HEAR: Job 1,2

Mordecai spoke up, took a stand, and made a HUGE difference in the lives of the Jews. From a man fearing for his life to the second in command in all the Persian kingdom, his journey of action exposes God’s protection and promotion.

Life presents challenges that threaten our well-being.  When we risk it all and boldly take a stand for what’s right, God will vindicate us and promote us. After all, isn’t that what Christ did? He laid down His Holy Life for our sins, for our preservation. God then highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above every other name.

It may be a painful trip, but in the end, the joy and reward will be more than worth it.

READ/HEAR: Esther 9,10