November 4 ~ Job 6:8-13
8-13 "All I want is an answer to one prayer,
a last request to be honored:
Let God step on me—squash me like a bug,
and be done with me for good.
I'd at least have the satisfaction
of not having blasphemed the Holy God,
before being pressed past the limits.
Where's the strength to keep my hopes up?
What future do I have to keep me going?
Do you think I have nerves of steel?
Do you think I'm made of iron?
Do you think I can pull myself up by my bootstraps?
Why, I don't even have any boots!
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Job is obviously one frustrated fellow. He does not understand what God is doing with him. And so often, neither do we! Many times, we think things ought to go one way, and God has other plans. You are getting ready for a big event at school or church, and you come down with a really nasty cold. You are running around like crazy trying to “get it all done,” and you lock your keys in your car. Your life seems to be going really, really well, and boom… you face a huge trial or challenge of some sort. And you wonder, “What are you trying to tell me, Lord?” You may even feel like it’s just not worth the effort, as Job does when he suggests that God “squash me like a bug.”
But I assure you that God is bigger than ANY thing we could ever experience. He has reasons that we will never understand in this lifetime, but I can assure you, they are perfect. He allows us to face challenges and “bumps in the road” for HIS purposes. He doesn’t cause them… but He works through them to strengthen us and to help us to deepen our faith and trust in Him.
So even if you don’t have any boots, pull yourself up by your “imaginary bootstraps” and allow God to work through you. Tell Him to “bring it on,” knowing that with His help, you can handle it all.
©2007 Debbie Robus
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November 3 ~ Job 6:1-7
1-7 Job answered:
"If my misery could be weighed,
if you could pile the whole bitter load on the scales,
It would be heavier than all the sand of the sea!
Is it any wonder that I'm screaming like a caged cat?
The arrows of God Almighty are in me,
poison arrows -- and I'm poisoned all through!
God has dumped the whole works on me.
Donkeys bray and cows moo when they run out of pasture --
so don't expect me to keep quiet in this.
Do you see what God has dished out for me?
It's enough to turn anyone's stomach!
Everything in me is repulsed by it --
it makes me sick.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Have you ever felt like your misery was heaver than all the sand of the sea? Have you ever just needed to “vent”? I want you to know today that God understands this need. He hears you when you cry out to Him. He actually is glad to hear you say, “I’ve got more than I can handle here!” God knows that when you figure out you can’t handle things on your own, you are more ready to turn to Him for help.
One more thing to remember… Job is really frustrated here, and so he is talking about all that God has dished out for him. God did not cause Job’s problems. Yes, He allowed them, so that Satan could see how faithful and strong Job was in his walk with God, but God still has not deserted Job. This is a very important point. God has not deserted us, either… even if it seems so.
So call out to God. Let Him hear – and have – your misery. Go ahead and “vent!”
©2007 Debbie Robus
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November 2 ~ Job 5:17-27
"So, what a blessing when God steps in and corrects you!
Mind you, don't despise the discipline of Almighty God!
True, he wounds, but he also dresses the wound;
the same hand that hurts you, heals you.
From one disaster after another he delivers you;
no matter what the calamity, the evil can't touch you—
20-26 "In famine, he'll keep you from starving,
in war, from being gutted by the sword.
You'll be protected from vicious gossip
and live fearless through any catastrophe.
You'll shrug off disaster and famine,
and stroll fearlessly among wild animals.
You'll be on good terms with rocks and mountains;
wild animals will become your good friends.
You'll know that your place on earth is safe,
you'll look over your goods and find nothing amiss.
You'll see your children grow up,
your family lovely and lissome as orchard grass.
You'll arrive at your grave ripe with many good years,
like sheaves of golden grain at harvest.
27 "Yes, this is the way things are -- my word of honor!
Take it to heart and you won't go wrong."
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Your professor hands your paper to you – the one you worked on for days and nights on end – and his grade is so low it could cause you to lose your scholarship. Now you will have to work even harder the rest of the semester. You think to yourself, “I prayed about this paper… why didn’t God help me get a better grade?” Recently, I went to my physician for a checkup. I knew that my cholesterol had been dangerously high, and I had tried to lower it for over a year with some natural supplements, because I tend to be allergic to traditional medications. I had prayed that God would allow this natural remedy to work, and that my cholesterol would be lower. And it was… but only 20 points or so… and the totals were still dangerously high. My doctor felt I had reached the point where I must try the “big guns” and chance an allergic reaction.
In both instances, God has not failed us. If you have to work harder and study more to pull your grade up and keep your scholarship, God will help you. And in my instance, God can keep me safe and allow this drug to work for me. The KEY is within US… will we trust Him? Will we believe Him when He says He will deliver us from disaster?
It is so easy to say, “God is GOD – He should just take care of these things for us on the front end!” But who are we to tell God how to care for us? Maybe this is why He lets us flail around a little… maybe we need a gentle (or not-so-gentle) reminder who serves Whom! I pray today that we would strengthen in our faith and our TRUST, and that we would be continually reminded that GOD is still in control!
©2007 Debbie Robus
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November 1 ~ Job 5:8-16
8-16 "If I were in your shoes, I'd go straight to God,
I'd throw myself on the mercy of God.
After all, he's famous for great and unexpected acts;
there's no end to his surprises.
He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth,
sends water to irrigate the fields.
He raises up the down-and-out,
gives firm footing to those sinking in grief.
He aborts the schemes of conniving crooks,
so that none of their plots come to term.
He catches the know-it-alls in their conspiracies—
all that intricate intrigue swept out with the trash!
Suddenly they're disoriented, plunged into darkness;
they can't see to put one foot in front of the other.
But the downtrodden are saved by God,
saved from the murderous plots, saved from the iron fist.
And so the poor continue to hope,
while injustice is bound and gagged.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
I’m going to let the words of Job McCully’s grandmother speak to you today. She wrote this journal entry on their blog last week. BTW… Job’s grandma is recovering from breast cancer. She lives with the McCullys and has been one of Job’s major caregivers since he was born. Here’s what she wrote…
Well yesterday at 8:39 p.m. Job crashed and was without a pulse until 8:47 p.m. I was on instant messenger conference with family and friends. They all want to know everything all the stats etc. I noticed his pulse/oxygen level was dropping. So I posted that his oxygen was down to 79. Then I heard the Nurse call for a crash cart and he started doing CPR on Job. They worked on Job for 8 minutes before I heard them say, “We have a pulse”. The team worked like a precision tool in the hands of God.
The Dr. said don’t expect for Job to wake up before morning. At about 3:00 a.m. Job opened his beautiful brown eyes. He had to have restraints put on his arms because they had to put an arterial line in his left wrist to more accurately measure his blood pressure, and also to keep him from pulling on other lines. Today they took him for a CT scan of his brain, chest, and abdomen. CT scan did not reveal anything wrong with brain, or anything new wrong with his chest. So Praise the Lord.
They said that Job had been standing on the edge of a cliff and when they started the sedation medicine it pushed him over the edge. Therefore the crash. Job is stable now and continues to be in the hands of our awesome God. God had prepared us for battle before the battle had begun. I had anointed Job and the room again about two hours before. Tina (Job’s mother) and her friends had went to the church and had been praying for Job for about 2 or 3 hours before. Tina had requested that I read Psalm 18 to Job 5 minutes before. God knew what was going to happen and He had us prepare.
You can’t tell me that we don’t serve an awesome God. One who cares and loves us. He is so wonderful, so marvelous. He is my hope, my salvation. Without Him I can do nothing. With Him I can do all things. He is our HEALER.
Love you forever in Christ Jesus our Lord, Grandma
It seems to me that the McCullys have heard Eliphaz and paid attention! When the world says, “listen to the doctors (mere mortals),” they say, “We’re gonna talk to God first and see what HE says!” What about us? Do we have this level of faith and trust in our awesome God? Let this message today be your “Eliphaz moment!” Wake up and recognize WHO is truly in control… and put your trust in HIM!
©2007 Debbie Robus
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October 31 ~ Job 5:1-7
1-7 "Call for help, Job, if you think anyone will answer! To which of the holy angels will you turn?
The hot temper of a fool eventually kills him,
the jealous anger of a simpleton does her in.
I've seen it myself - seen fools putting down roots,
and then, suddenly, their houses are cursed.
Their children out in the cold, abused and exploited,
with no one to stick up for them.
Hungry people off the street plunder their harvests,
cleaning them out completely, taking thorns and all,
insatiable for everything they have.
Don't blame fate when things go wrong -
trouble doesn't come from nowhere.
It's human! Mortals are born and bred for trouble,
as certainly as sparks fly upward.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
“It’s not my fault!” How many times have you heard someone say that? Or what about “Whatever happens will happen” or “It was just meant to be?” We all tend to want to credit “fate” with the circumstances and events of our lives. That is so much easier than taking responsibility for them – or for stepping up to the plate and realizing that we often cause (or at least contribute to) our own problems.
It is so much easier to blame “fate” – or worse yet… GOD. “Why is God doing this to me? Why is God punishing me? Why has God let my business fail? Why has God made me sick? Why has God kept me in a lousy job for low pay and a house that is run down and driving a clunker of a car?” Eliphaz is reminding Job that “You know better than this!”
I honestly think that Eliphaz has said all of these things to Job about what others believe and how others act in order to shake him up and say, “Hey, man! Take a look around. See how foolish this thinking and behavior is, especially for a man of God like YOU! And that is our message for today. Take a look around at how the world would see your circumstances – good or bad – and recognize God’s plan for your life. See the areas where YOU have contributed to your own downfall (sin). Maybe God allowed you to wallow in it a little to show you how much you need Him, but He has NEVER left you. He didn’t leave Job, and He won’t leave us!
So blame fate if you think that will help… but know that GOD is still in charge!
©2007 Debbie Robus
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October 30 ~ Job 4:12-21
12-16 "A word came to me in secret—
a mere whisper of a word, but I heard it clearly.
It came in a scary dream one night,
after I had fallen into a deep, deep sleep.
Dread stared me in the face, and Terror.
I was scared to death—I shook from head to foot.
A spirit glided right in front of me—
the hair on my head stood on end.
I couldn't tell what it was that appeared there—
a blur...and then I heard a muffled voice:
17-21 "'How can mere mortals be more righteous than God?
How can humans be purer than their Creator?
Why, God doesn't even trust his own servants,
doesn't even cheer his angels,
So how much less these bodies composed of mud,
fragile as moths?
These bodies of ours are here today and gone tomorrow,
and no one even notices - gone without a trace. -
we die and are never the wiser for having lived.'"
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Okay, so this is sorta scary. Do you know people who live as if they are so insignificant that they could be here one day and gone the next and nobody would care? Eliphaz’s dream revealed to him that many of us live our lives like we are fragile jars of clay that will shatter if we hit the slightest bump. That doesn’t say very much for the God we serve, does it? Do you think we are so unimportant to God that He would allow us to come and go on this earth without anyone taking notice? Do you really think that was His intention?
I believe God sent Eliphaz to Job to say, “Hey… you are special to God… He is with you! He will not let you slip and fall and shatter into a million pieces. I know it seems bad right now, but keep the faith, man! God is with you… God will save you!” And I believe that God will do the same for each of us. But we have to do our part. We have to trust Him and stand firm and steady with Him and always give Him praise and glory, no matter what! Can you do that? I know that you can. You may be counting on God, but know this… God is also counting on YOU!
©2007 Debbie Robus
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October 29 ~ Job 4:1-11
1-6 Then Eliphaz from Teman spoke up:
"Would you mind if I said something to you? Under the circumstances it's hard to keep quiet.
You yourself have done this plenty of times, spoken words
that clarify, encouraged those who were about to quit.
Your words have put stumbling people on their feet,
put fresh hope in people about to collapse.
But now you're the one in trouble - you're hurting!
You've been hit hard and you're reeling from the blow.
But shouldn't your devout life give you confidence now?
Shouldn't your exemplary life give you hope?
7-11 "Think! Has a truly innocent person ever ended up on the scrap heap?
Do genuinely upright people ever lose out in the end?
It's my observation that those who plow evil
and sow trouble reap evil and trouble.
One breath from God and they fall apart,
one blast of his anger and there's nothing left of them.
The mighty lion, king of the beasts, roars mightily,
but when he's toothless he's useless -
No teeth, no prey - and the cubs
wander off to fend for themselves.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Do you know somebody like Job? Do you know somebody who is always telling others to “hang in there” and “keep your chin up?” But when the chips are down for them, all bets are off! It’s called “practicing what you preach,” and Job is being taken to task here for not doing just that!
We don’t know what we would do in a truly desperate situation. It’s very easy to tell someone else who is suffering how to act, but quite another for us to act “right” in a similar situation. I think the thing to remember is that God will never give us more than we can handle… with special emphasis on the WE! Keep God in the equation as a more-than-equal partner, and you can handle anything.
I also think that God understands that even the most faithful Christian will have momentary lapses in strength and courage. I think that there may be a moment when you say, “I’m not sure I can do this!” and God hears you and comes to your rescue… if you call on Him! I believe that God understood Job’s pain and suffering and that He knew Job’s heart. God knew that Job would never turn away from Him, and He sent this friend Eliphaz to rattle his cage and remind him WHO was in charge!
What about you… do you need someone to rattle your cage? Do you need to be reminded Who is in charge, and that you will never be given more than you can handle? Then consider it done! Now go and give God praise in all your circumstances!
©2007 Debbie Robus
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