Day 9 of 365...
Job 21-23
Job 21:7 - "Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful?"
You know, it's easy to look at someone else's situation and make comparisons (whether good or bad). However, I have come to the realization that everyone has "junk" that they're dealing with. In this verse, Job is doing the same thing, and I'm guilty of it as well. In the middle of a difficult situation, it's easy to look at someone else and think that they are better off. I think Satan uses that as a discouragement tactic. My brain goes directly to what Job went on a rant about. Why is it that when you look at some "bad" people, they seem to be so well off? When you look at some "God-fearing" people, they are in dire straits. When those thoughts come in my head, I'm reminded that I am in no place to question the way God works. Why do bad things happen to good people...because there is sin in this world! I have to reiterate what I've said before...God uses this process to help us connect with Him in a way that we haven't before. It is there that I can put my hope.
Job 22:2 - "Can a man be of any use to God? Can even a wise man be of use to Him?"
Apparently, this might be the year that God finally shatters my pride completely...at least, that's my hope. (I pray He does so gingerly.) Eliphaz is up to bat for the third time here in Chapter 22. Again, he takes his swings at Job without relenting. However, he makes a valid point here. This pride shattering verse is in this book for a reason, and I thinks it's because I need to realize that I have nothing to give God apart from Him working through me...an empty vessel. There are no new, bright ideas I can tell Him...no wisdom to impart...no new tactic as to how approach those who still don't know Him. In reality, that's a relief, because that means there's no pressure. My job is to continually empty myself of me and be filled with Him. If I can do that, then everything else is a piece of cake. However, it seems easy until you try it, so, that's why this is the year of dying.
Job 23:12 - "I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily food."
I would love to be able to make the same statement that Job made here. However, too many times I depart from the commands God gives me. I follow along with God to a point, then I decide that I can handle it from there on. I am beginning to understand and realize, over the course of the last week and a half, that I am on the verge of treasuring God's Word more than my daily food. When God uses His Word to speak to me directly, I can't wait to hear what He has to say next. While there are always things that sting a little or things that I need to work on, I realize that I am hearing from the Creator of the universe! He knows me by name, and He calls me His own! I've also come to understand the damage I can create when I listen to God for a little while then try and do it on my own. It never ends well. My prayer is that when I look back on this year, I will be able to say that I trusted God more and more each day and that I treasured His Word in my heart because it meant more than my daily food.
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