Where My Bible Opened To Today - Job 8-11

         I was planning to copy & paste Job 8-11 here from my bible but it would just take up way too much space, so I hope you will take the time to read it. 

         How many times do we sit around with our friends or acquaintances and talk to them about our problems or trials and they want to accuse us of doing something to "deserve" what we are dealing with? And how many times do we hear people say "GOD is giving me way more than I can handle. I despise GOD for everything I'm going through."? Instead of realizing the source of our trials....that the Lord is allowing the devil to TEST us, we try to turn it around. And how often do we have "friends" who try to make us feel like what we are going through is OUR fault?

         I really enjoyed reading these chapters this morning, because here we have someone hundreds of years ago who struggles with the same feelings we do? How often do we feel like we are alone in our suffering? Here we can see someone who went through SO much but never blamed God or himself for the things that he was going through. The Lord allowed the enemy to take everything from Job....his family, his possessions, even his health. Yet Job never stopped loving God. 

         I think this is a wonderful example of how we should deal with things that we are going through. This life is a test! God wants to see that no matter what hard times we fall upon, we will turn to Him for our strength! We have our advocate, JESUS CHRIST, who has already paid the price for our sins, and HE is wanting us to allow Him to fulfill what He has already done. We can turn to Him and receive peace during difficult times.

          One last thing that I would like to point out about this excerpt is the manner in which Job's friends treated him during his struggles. I pray that we as Christians who follow Christ will NEVER treat others unkindly or try to make them feel like they are less than an amazing child of God when they are dealing with trials. I pray that we will have a heart like Jesus....to lift them up and remind them that God loves them, and that Jesus came to the world and gave His life so that we could live everyday with the knowledge that God is good! He selflessly gave his only Son so that we could be redeemed for our imperfections.

         I pray that you strive to love others as He has loved us. Happy Sunday, my friends! May the love of the Lord be with you in all that you do!