Day 5- Jan 24, 2008 - Job 1 and 2

check, check, check, check it out

That's really cool...after all that happened and he still didnt say anything bad or sinned? That is a very strong faith.

yeah just imagine if you were the one that God put his trust in like that. He pretty much told Satan to bring it on and do his worst. Job was a man of integrity we could all model ourselves after.

And i like the part where he calls his wife a foolish woman, i will have to use that...

Man, I love Job! It's seriously one of my favorite books in the bible. Just think about it, like Tommy said the Lord trusted him SO much that he knew that he wouldn't betray him no matter what Satan threw Job's way. It's truly inspirational to know that the Lord trusts so much, or maybe it's better to say that the Lord knows so much! I also think that Job is the guy we should all try to be like, understanding and loving towards the Lord no matter what!

So Job had rock solid faith...something that really bothers me is when football fans praise their team when the team is winning and then slam the players/coach/etc as soon as they lose. These fair weathered fans are alot like us in our walk with God. When life is good and we are happy, we love God. But sometimes, as soon as some things go wrong, we are quick to question and doubt God. Job's example teaches us that if the ONLY thing we have in our life is God, He is enough. Thats easier to type than it is to live, but God is the only thing that will be around after we leave this life.
Another thing to notice in these passages is that Satan chose to test Job because he was a man of great faith. The person that threatens Satan most is a person who is actively pursuing God...because even though that person is lost to Satan, he can make others turn away from him too. Have you ever felt Satan's attack on your life the moment you step off the bus from Gatlinburg, Mfuge, Centrifuge, mission trip, etc? Satan wants to blow out your fire.
One last thing is that at the end of Job 2, Job doesn't hide his grief. We have talked about this lately, but its important to remember that God doesnt want us to pretend to be happy if we arent. Even Jesus wept. Our emotions are real things and you arent doubting God's power by having honest emotions.
final thought from my Bible commentary: "Adversity strengthens REAL faith by causing believers to dig their roots deeper into God in order to withstand the storms. How deep does your faith go?"
loves

I read these same passages for the first time about a month ago, and ever since then I have used it as an example for how my attitude should be towards God in bad times as well as good. Which is definitely something I battle with but Job's story always gives me some encouragement.

great thoughts about being a person that the Lord can rely upon, y'all. and on the appropriateness of finding space to mourn.

1. i'm reminded that Satan has too much time on his hands and his days are spent looking for ways to ruin us.

2. its dangerous to ascribe earthly tragedy as some reflection of either the righteousness or wickedness of a particular person. like Christ said to his disciples when they asked him about a tower that fell on a group of Galileans, "what, you think their sin was worse than your own?" sometimes crappy things happen. it's not necessarily an indictment on the person. Job was righteous before God.

Job seems like one of those people who I (like his wife) would think stupid and annoying for being such a good person. Is that just the devil i guess? It's hard to know someone like Job because you know you should be like them, but you don't want to admit he's living his life better than you.
Job is so inspiring when I read about him in the bible, but I think if I knew him in real life I would get mad at his perfectness. It's funny how real life and the bible seem so different sometimes.