Today's Readings: New Testament -
Mark 16
Revelation 22
Old Testament -
Job 42
Malachi 1-4
Click on Text Links to Read Online
Focus Verses: Job 42:3-6
3 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. 4 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
Insight:
It's easy to see a suffering person's need for comfort and help, but not so easy to see that person's need to be confronted or corrected. Suffering presents unique and intense challenges and temptations. We are tempted to reject God or blame him. We are tempted to think everything is meaningless. Subsequently, we are tempted to live in self-centered, bitter, or careless ways. Suffering can produce its own peculiar kind of arrogance that finds its root in a sense of unjust victimization.
When confronted by God, Job wisely recognized the subtle arrogance at work in his suffering heart. He stopped shaking his fist at God, and came to the startling epiphany: "I am suffering for reasons too awesome and mysterious for me to know." Job humbled himself in repentance and entrusted his suffering to God. This kind of trust and humility is perhaps the deepest and most profound expression of faith any human can offer to God.
Response and Action:
I will entrust my suffering and hardship to God. I choose to believe that my life—including my suffering--has meaning, even if that meaning is too wonderful for me to comprehend. I will examine my heart in times of trial and guard against the unique sins suffering can provoke in me. I will humble myself before God.
O God, forgive me when trials and problems get the best of me. Help me to draw near to you, and to trust you with my sorrows and difficulties. Help me to have a thankful heart, and as I lift up my requests to you, guard my heart and mind with the peace of Christ Jesus. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: James 1:12-13
12 Blessed is the man who keeps on going when times are hard. After he has come through them, he will receive a crown. The crown is life itself. God has promised it to those who love him. 13 When you are tempted, you shouldn't say, "God is tempting me." God can't be tempted by evil. And he doesn't tempt anyone.
Resources:Disappointment with God & Where is God When it Hurts? (2 books in 1 volume)
by Philip Yancey
