God is your security

Starting in the 23rd chapter, from the book of Job, Job responded by saying that his complaint about his treatment from God is bitter, but he tried not to make it very loud.  He desperately wanted to find God and ask Him what he had done to deserve such horrible treatment.

God knew where he was going and that he always stayed on God's path, treasuring God's Word more than food.

Then, in the 24th chapter, Job ranted about how the wicked never seemed to be brought to the Lord's judgment and that the poor and needy could never get a break.  By the end of the chapter though, he did admit that although the rich seemed to rise high, they never had any assurance in life.  God is the only path to security.  Not physical riches.

Create a habit of thanking the Lord

You wake up in the morning, thank the Lord.

You step outside, no matter the weather, thank the Lord.

You go to the store, thank the Lord.

You step onto the bus, thank the Lord.

You drive along the highway, thank the Lord.

You sit down to eat, thank the Lord.

You finish a workout, thank the Lord.

Even what seems to be the most mundane of tasks or everyday events, create a habit of thanking the Lord.  I live in northwestern Minnesota, and right now we have a good inch or two of snow on the ground--this started coming down yesterday.  I breathed in the crisp air and thanked the Lord.  Since the middle of June 2020, I've been going to the local gym to work out at night.  It's a good cap to my day.  It's something I've been wanting to do for a while, but for personal reasons I was unable to do so until last year.  And so, whenever I get done, I look up and thank the Lord.

Habits centered around the Lord will lead you to a much better place, as He guides your heart to where you're supposed to go.  Even reading the Bible and praying should be a habit.

Don't worry about what you didn't do tomorrow.  Start today.  Create the habits that He wants you to create.

Having peace

Chapter 22 in the book of Job is rather interesting--then again, aren't all of what we read in the Bible interesting or intriguing?

The chapter, of course, continues with another of Job's friends.  This one is Eliphaz, whom we've heard from before.  He starts by asking what use righteous people are to God Himself, what use wise people can be to God.

Then, he asks Job if it's his fear of the Lord, that He corrects Job, that is causing him so much angst?  He goes on a tirade about how Job had lent money to friends but demanded their clothing as security, stripping them down to nothing.  He refused water to those who were thirsty and food to those who were starving.  He even took land and when widows came to him, he sent them away empty-handed.

If you review the first chapters of this book, you get none of this, the events that took place.  What's interesting is that, of the four types of Bibles that I read, the New Living Translation says that "he must have" done these things, not that he had.  All of the others state that he did them.  I'm leaving this open for interpretation as there is still a message in these words.

In verse 21, Eliphaz tells Job to submit himself to the Lord and be at peace.  In verse 22, he tells Job to keep the Lord's words into his heart.  Be at peace with the Lord's words in your heart.  Definitely wise words to live by.

When my wife passed in January 2020, I was sad.  I grieved deeply--and still do, if you want to know.  But knowing what I've read and prayed about from God, my heart is at peace.  My wife is at peace, and one day I will wrap my arms around her again in Heaven.

Reading the Bible gives you a peace that is beyond understanding.  When you read His words, open your heart, open your mind, and be prepared to be filled by his incredible peace.

Repetition is necessary for learning, even the basics

While I was studying the 19th chapter from the book of Proverbs, it struck me how many times things were repeated in the Bible.

And Proverbs 19 is no exception.

First, what's interesting is how much of this chapter deals with wealth.  The first verse goes like this: "Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and a fool."  Then, in verse four: "Wealth makes many 'friends'; poverty drives them all away."  In this last verse, the word friends is in quotations, which really means false friends.  True friends will always stick with you.

Verse 5 and 9 are very similar: "A false witness will not go unpunished, nor will a liar escape."  Verse 28 also deals with witnesses: "A corrupt witness makes a mockery of justice . . ."

Verses 13 and 14 are interesting, as it deals with wives.  In 13, it says, ". . . a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping."  Then, in 14: ". . . only the Lord can give an understanding wife."

Of course, like all Proverbs, there is so much to cover, but this will get you started.

From faith's point of view

In the book of Job, chapter 20, another of Job's friends Zophar replied to Job, stating how disturbed he was from the continuous insults hurled at him.  He then went on to say that since the beginning, those who did wicked deeds had short-lived triumphs.  Their joy was temporary and their dreams vanished like the night.  Even though those who were evil seemed to have many gifts, all gifts turned sour and were finally left with nothing.

Zophar went on and on, ending with saying that God's anger always descended on those wicked ones.

In chapter 21, Job responded that the wicked always seemed to prosper, grow old, and prosper beyond one's imagination.  They always seemed to have it all, even with the greatest of health and all the riches one could have.

When I read these two chapters and reflected on them, as I have the previous chapters where Job goes back and forth against his friends, it struck me that everything depends on one's point of view.  One may see those who have more than others, more than themselves, and are envious of them, thinking that God has blessed them, even for doing wicked things.  But when you peel back the layers, like the layers of an onion, those who seem to have it all are really being torn apart on the inside.  The Spirit is constantly telling their heart to change their ways, and the wicked ones don't know how to handle it.

Life depends on one's point of view.  One widower may view the passing of their spouse as a blessing, for the spouse would not have to be in pain from the illness that had attacked them.  But another widower may curse God as to why they had to take their spouse away from them, why they had to be cursed with a deadly illness.

Pray to the Lord to view life from another point of view.  From the point of view of Heaven, of the Lord, of the Spirit, of Christ Jesus.

God's timeline may not be in line with your expectations

I happened to find myself back in the book of Genesis the other day and I read chapter 16.  In this chapter, Sarai, wife of Abram, went to Abram and told him that, since the Lord has prevented her from having children yet, go to her maid Hagar and have a child with her.

Abram was not pleased with this at first, but soon relented, listened to her advice, and had a did as she told him to do.  In other words, instead of trusting and listening to God, he took his advice from others as it more served his flesh, his earthly pleasures, than those outside of the flesh.

When Hagar became pregnant, Sarai was jealous and treated her poorly.  After Hagar gave birth to Ishmael--a name given by an Angel of the Lord--it would be another fourteen years before Sarai actually had a child, a son named Isaac.

We may go through life, wondering when something will happen.  When will you find the love of your life, the job of your dreams, for your side project to overshadow your day job as far as earnings?  Or it could be when a disease to be cured or an illness to be healed or, in the case of Abram and Sarai, to bring a child into the world.

Early on in my relationship with my late wife, she knew I wanted to be a writer.  Not once did she ever put me down for not getting published with a big publisher or making millions of dollars doing it as an indie author.  In fact, when she wrote to-do lists for me, at the bottom she would write: P.S. And Write!  I hate to admit this, but even after a twenty-two and a half year marriage, she never saw the fruits of my writing labor to the degree at which I wanted.

But we both had faith that it would happen in God's timeline.  Our timeline may not be His.

Keep your faith in the Lord that what will happen was meant to be.  Think of it this way.  Jesus's Apostles were told that He would return to earth one day and for us to prepare the Way for Him.  That was over 2,000 years ago.

We're still waiting.

God knows best.  God's timing is perfect.

Even little prayers can get answered

Last week, my youngest daughter was having battery troubles with her cell phone.  She has tons of pictures of her late mother, my late wife, as well as a bunch of notes for things.

I get it, for a young teenager, these things are like the life blood of their entire livelihood.  But the troubles were so bad that she had to do a complete factory reset on it.

Then, as she was having more troubles getting the phone back on, she couldn't find any of those pictures or her notes.  These were cherished memories she had of our sweet beloved, and her tears just tore at my heart.

I then went into my room and prayed.  I had tears running down my own cheeks as I asked God to please let them be restored, the pictures.  We know that one day, when we pass on, that we'll walk hand-in-hand with her again.  But for now, with our time on earth, we cherished those physical memories.

The next morning, she looked at her phone.  Her battery was still causing troubles, but guess what?  Most of the pictures and notes were restored.

Praise Jesus!  Praise The Lord!

These prayers may seem trivial and small.  But including the Lord in all aspects of your life reminds us that He is in charge of it all.  We are just stewards of this life.  And we need to do our best to honor what we have been given to the Almighty!