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After I thought this piece thru (it’s been building for a while), I saw a visual repetition and I do appreciate God’s repetitive messages (I get then a lot!)… This repeat surely makes me acknowledge something I already knew… dealing with painful trials requires God’s guidance. We do all have trials of many levels… thorns in our sides… we realize they MUST be dealt with – WITH God’s help…  I thought of JOB, I discussed JOB, I prayed about GOD’S WILL and how to apply Job’s lessons…. This morning I saw the packet of “Jobes fertilizer sticks” and wrote this out… I don’t have to go into detail, we all have trials… It’s a comfort to have biblical examples that remind us to LISTEN to GOD’S WILL… And follow…

Job, Cover Your Mouth, 26MAY

I had a great chat with a pastor-counselor-friend, who reinforced Jesus’s teachings that God wants us to LOVE one another… When Jesus had trials, HE did not retaliate in harsh words, instead often HE was quiet…. God wants us to figure out how to LOVE even our worst enemies… Hmmm… that phrase: “the patience of Job”…

From James 5:10–11: “Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”

Job reminds us we are NOT God, and we should not try to direct GOD’S WILL, our job is only to follow it… being “Job”, as in the person, means we had to learn to listen! “9 Do you have an arm like God’s,   and can your voice thunder like HIS?”

When JOB realized he was speaking against God, and that he didn’t understand all the attributes of God’s plan, Job put his hand over his mouth in realization that there was nothing he could say…

In other words, we should FEAR and respect the Lord, NOT second guess HIM. We should NOT try to do God’s work FOR Him, but understand that God IS working, all the time…. Remember, don’t judge the people you are around, just do your job which is to LOVE!  We are to not to look to the things and distractions of this earth… we are to keep our focus on using Jesus’s strength IN US and the Holy Spirit’s directions to lead us to Heaven’s eternal life…

“7 Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 “But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.
9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.”

If life and other earthly pulls are seemingly going against you, you still have been directed to LOVE… You don’t have to agree with this world, but YOU STILL HAVE TO LOVE in it, “to weep with HIS tears” for those who just aren’t listening to Jesus… “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.”  To model Jesus means we must study HIS ways. A song lyric that pertains is: “Keep my heart – eager to hear YOUR WORD and obey”…

Sometimes we have to close our mouths, because we don’t know HOW God wants to use us in that particular situation…

Job 40:2-5 The Lord said to Job: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” Then Job answered the Lord: “I am unworthy — how can I reply to you?  I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer — twice, but I will say no more.”

It’s not easy, but it’s our calling to model Christ… We are to empty ourselves of our own desires and plans and pick up our cross for HIS WILL… “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.” We are human, but we can always try to model God’s ideal…

A great and fitting song, “Soften my heart” autoplays in my head  – “to feel YOUR compassion to weep with YOUR tears, soften MY heart, OH Lord, soften my heart”…

We need to rely on Jesus for a lot, well, for everything…. God has placed us where we are…. we have to figure it out – or maybe we will NOT figure it out, but because even if we DON’T understand, we will have to GO with it… We need to BE STILL, listen for God’s direction, and follow HIS WILL.

We have to pick up our own crosses, daily, because in all our ways we need to follow God’s will.

We need to take solace and also JOY the fact that we DO have the greatest help… God has sent Jesus to do what we cannot… Jesus will carry us, HE will lead – IF WE LET HIM… Jesus sent the Holy Spirit – “Another” to move us in God’s plan…

PICK UP YOUR CROSSES, my friends… Keep the faith, keep moving, the path is narrow, but it is sure….LISTEN for that small STILL voice inside the storm of the world…

God bless your paths… God’s with us, FEEL HIM…. Have HOPE in the wisdom of our Lord.

AMEN
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Here are selected scriptures from JOB
Job 5
2 Resentment kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.
3 I myself have seen a fool taking root,
but suddenly his house was cursed.
4 His children are far from safety,
crushed in court without a defender.
5 The hungry consume his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6 For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
7 Yet man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.
9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
10 He provides rain for the earth;
he sends water on the countryside.
11 The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
14 Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.
15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
——-
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
8 They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
9 Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 “If he comes along and confines you in prison
and convenes a court, who can oppose him?
11 Surely he recognizes deceivers;
and when he sees evil, does he not take note?
12 But the witless can no more become wise
than a wild donkey’s colt can be born human.[a]
13 “Yet if you devote your heart to him
and stretch out your hands to him,
14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
15 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face;
you will stand firm and without fear.
16 You will surely forget your trouble,
recalling it only as waters gone by.
17 Life will be brighter than noonday,
and darkness will become like morning.
18 You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,
and many will court your favor.”
——-

Here is a great synopsis of Job’s trials…
http://www.gotquestions.org/patience-of-Job.html