This time of the year and always, let us try to complain less.  

Job (see the book of Job) was in BAD STRAIGHTS, he didn’t know he was being sifted by the devil and watched by God.  (We on the other hand SHOULD know this). Job’s friends consoled but that only seemed to extend the conversation, even made it worse. (Wow, they went on and on….) … I do wonder why the many many many chapters were given for these conversations (we would too) and its not just that “Job had to get it out of his system”, it’s just Job did not use his wisdom to apply to the system… and Job had LOTS of words seemingly more than almost everyone, except of course,  THE WORD.  Jesus (the Word) would know this feeling of suffering physically and feeling also… also seemingly separated from God to take our sins away, but never was He nor us nor Job separated from God Almighty. Never separated and always on the same page.

I know it is curious why we suffer, and yet we don’t know the half of it. So many suffer so much that our suffering should pale in comparison and yet we speak in distress, we are but human, it’s natural.  Perhaps so much more that we are to reach to the Supreme Hope. We are instructed that we are to fear God, acknowledging both His Power and His compassion. 

Reading through the book of Job, I saw a passage that I could discern an answer – Job said the following: “He [God] is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.”

Oh!!!!! I can read between these lines, into the Wisdom of God. He DID create a mediation path, a forgiveness, an advocate. We ARE in life now able to keep safe under God’s Wing because Jesus covers our sins with His blood.  Let us apply wisdom and allow Jesus to be our Savior. 

We MUST fear God, He really IS all that powerful, yet we must LOVE God, He really IS that compassionate. Love God. Understand that we are human and we are NOT God to understand it all…

God has the power and He uses it! So importantly God has the power to save. He gave us wisdom, unlike some creatures. And God’s wisdom protects His children. 

After the trials, the Lord spoke to Job (remember all these Words are Jesus the Living Word that remind us God IS God): 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.” Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm: “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his? – Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty. Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at all who are proud and bring them low, look at all who are proud and humble them, crush the wicked where they stand. Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave. Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.”

Who IS this RIGHT HAND? (Of God, not Job)

JESUS, that’s Who.

Let us start now with belief… and wisdom to know.. 

In the end we will all see all, like Job. And we will understand!!! Until then, let us just BELIEVE!!!

We MUST have the WISDOM to WAIT upon GOD. 

Amen!

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Here us how the earthly story ends:

Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Epilogue

After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.  All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old man and full of years.

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One more passage about wisdom:

“The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork.She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.”

God has wisdom He wants to share.

His children, we, in whom He does care.