40 Days in the Desert

Have you ever been hurt by someone? If not, you are a rare creature! Most of us have been hurt plenty of times by others. And I think one of the most common ways of dealing with that hurt is anger. Some people will hold on to a grudge, with feelings of resentment causing a foul taste in your mouth at the mere mention of that person's name. Others will lash out at that person letting their anger be known. Some will just quietly go on about their lives without ever mentioning it, all the while the anger is eating them up inside. The same is true for our man Job. In today's reading from chapter 18 his friend Bildad is challenging him once again and he says: "You who tear yourself in your anger— shall the earth be neglected on your account or the rock be moved out of its place?" — JOB 18:4 Such powerful imagery in this one line!

I remember having a conversation with an old friend and explaining to him what I had been up to and how I was running my own business. I said, "thank God!" showing gratitude to the fact that God had blessed me and been with me throughout the journey. He seemed agitated that I would give God all of the credit, challenging me to direct the praise at myself and my hard work. Of course, I don't discount that it took lots of work, but without God I never would've been able to do it. You hear in the movies all the time: "Just believe in yourself". This is the problem with our society. You can't depend on yourself. You need help sometimes and that's okay. "The righteous holds to his way, the one with clean hands increases in strength." — JOB 17:9 So if we can't depend on ourselves, what do we do? We hold on to our faith, not faith in a set of beliefs, but in a person. You must cling to God.

We explain the truth of the infinite wisdom as God as His omniscience. Basically it means that we believe that God knows all things. If that is the case then we must also admit our own limited knowledge. Only the mind of God could conceive of all that exists in the created universe. Yet sometimes in our shortsightedness we forget this and come to believe that we know better than God. This is exactly what Job's friend Eliphaz warns him about in today's reading. "Do you listen in on God’s council and restrict wisdom to yourself? What do you know that we do not know, or understand that we do not?" — JOB 15:8-9

Trees are pretty resilient. If you cut off their branches they will grow back in time. Some trees will even sprout again after being cut down completely. On the other hand, human life is short and death if final. And that's the message we here from Job in today's reading. "But when a man dies, all vigor leaves him; when a mortal expires, where then is he? As when the waters of a lake fail, or a stream shrivels and dries up, So mortals lie down, never to rise. Until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep." — JOB 14:10-12

Rivers flow downhill. That's a fact. It's just the way water works. They start at the top of mountains winding there way down to the valleys and eventually emptying themselves into the ocean. It is an actual sport to sit on an inflatable raft and let the current take you where it wills. And the current can be powerful and very rough. Once you're in it it can be almost impossible to get out. You are at the mercy of the current. If you've ever seen whitewater rafters flying down the treacherous currents of powerful rivers you know what I mean. They are pretty much helpless. They can steer their raft, but there is not very much control and in the end they are going to be bashed up and beaten up by the time they get down river. It's the perfect metaphor for the world.

Our faults are something we tend to keep hidden. We don't broadcast to the world when we've failed or fallen short of our goals. And when we sin, we keep it secret for as long as we can. But in today's reading Job says something significant about sin. "What are my faults and my sins? My misdeed, my sin make known to me!" — JOB 13:23 Job is asking God to show him his sins.

Have you ever heard that line "keep your head up"? It's what people will say to lift the spirits of someone who is feeling sad. Well that's sort of what Zophar, the third of Job's friends to speak, says in today's reading. "If iniquity is in your hand, remove it, and do not let injustice dwell in your tent, Surely then you may lift up your face in innocence; you may stand firm and unafraid." — JOB 11:14-15 But Zophar isn't simply saying, things are going to be alright. He is actually challenging Job. Remember, Job has been calling out to God in his suffering but at the same time he is afraid of God's judgement knowing that he is a sinner. And rightly so.

We've heard Job tell God to basically give him some space. He feels the weight of God's presence. He feels pressured by God's rules. And in today's reading as Job continues his discourse with God he uses a rather strange analogy, comparing God's constant pursuit of him as being hunted. "You hunt me like a lion: repeatedly you show your wondrous power against me, You renew your attack upon me and multiply your harassment of me; in waves your troops come against me." — JOB 10:16-17

Day 9 - You Are NOT Worthy by Ricky Jones

Today's reading is the first response from the second of Job's friends. His name is Bildad and he too tries to help Job see both reason and through the eyes of faith. Again some of the things he tells Job are to challenge him, to get him out of this funk that he finds himself in and hopefully to trust in God. "How long will you utter such things? The words from your mouth are a mighty wind! Does God pervert judgment, does the Almighty pervert justice? If your children have sinned against him and he has left them in the grip of their guilt..." — JOB 8:2-4