Job and His “Friends”

Many know the story of Job, how Satan inflicted great pain and suffering on Him to try to show God that He only praised Him for His blessings. It was a test. This is a hard read, and I am sure I will not do it justice, but I will try.

As with all of us, He didn’t pass all of the test, but He kept his integrity and faith, even through his doubt and questioning. Job lost his children, his house, his wealth, his friends and family more or less abandoned him, even his wife told him to curse God and die. He was inflicted with disease, pain, and great suffering, but in the end, He stayed strong in his faith in God and eventually repented of his pride. But he had some so-called friends that came to him to explain why he was suffering based on their own experience and short-sighted knowledge. From the end of chapter 1 through chapter 31, the author writes of the debate between Job and his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, as well as Job’s complaints against God. You should read through this on your own, but I will give some of the highlights. In another post I will write about God’s reply and the encounter between God and Job, and God and Job’s 3 friends. Between these events, another person comes into the scene, Elihu, and reveals some flaws in the arguments of both Job and his friends. So this younger man, after listening and respecting his elders, gave his opinion which contradicted the other men, explaining the character of God and the shortcomings of their argument. God does not rebuke Elihu as He does his 3 , but reminds everyone who He is and His power and righteousness, and sets them straight.

Continue reading “Job and His “Friends””

Peace Through Troubled Times

Anyone besides me having a hard time having peace in these troubled times?  I have been reading scriptures and other articles that we will have peace through Christ and I know it’s true.  But, I still struggle with the anxiety of it all.  Yes, I still do find peace inside, because I know God is there and he has a plan, as frustrating as it is not knowing what that plan is.  I know God loves me and He is by my side even when I don’t feel it.  I know that He is always there for me even through this chaos.  Even though it seems the world has turned upside down with the virus, the empty shelves at the grocery store, the economy crashing, social distancing and all the bad news on TV, we need to continue reading God’s word and remember His promises and to continue in prayer and to trust in Him. Continue reading “Peace Through Troubled Times”

When Things Don’t Go as Planned

Last week was a stressful week.  Work has already been stressful lately (which has been literally giving me headaches), but with the metal prices low, the company I worked for had to take some measures to reduce costs (I work for a zinc mine).  One of those measures included some layoffs.  Thank God I was not one of them, but I don’t know what the future holds in the years to come.  I have been planning a mission trip to Haiti for some time now.  Plans were to leave the end of this month.  But, I received a call that there is some civil unrest there and demonstrations were planned for the time I would be going there.  So, missionaries decided to cancel any mission trips during that time for obvious safety concerns.  The good news is that they are going to have a mission team going there mid-December and they were hoping that I could go then.  This was good news, but it also meant rescheduling flights and canceling hotel rooms.  All in all, this would add to the cost and I will be sleeping in the airport for the overnight layover because the hotel room was non-refundable.  I purchased travel insurance, but it did not cover this circumstance.  I know that God always works things out for good and His timing is right, but it did leave me with doubt, frustration, discouragement and wondering what I did wrong, or if He was testing my faith or if the devil was trying to keep me from going or working on my mind to lose faith or be distracted or keep from doing what God wants me to do, or…or…or… Continue reading “When Things Don’t Go as Planned”

God’s Promises: Comfort and Strength

In our weakness, God gives us strength.  When we struggle, He comforts us.  We will go through hardship; we will have times of weakness.  He doesn’t keep us from those times, He helps us to get through them.  He is always there for us, even when we don’t realize it.  The Spirit will guide us and strengthen us and pray for us. Continue reading “God’s Promises: Comfort and Strength”