Sonshine's Journal

If there is one refrain that keeps men from entering the realm of the righteous it is this: I think I have done all I need to do to enter heaven. It is all about “I” and none of God. What do you feel you have done that would merit the Almighty’s presence? Some would say they have given from their purses. Some would say they have reached out and touched the infirm. Sounds righteous enough but when God looks at the one before Him, He announces leave for I never knew you. Why is that God’s response? It is because while He is faithful, you, oh man, are not. Your heart is deceitful and desperately wicked and God knows it. Perhaps that is why David penned the words of these four psalms. “But as for me, because of your great faithfulness I will enter your house;”  It is all of Him and none of me or you. 

David knows his need and only the righteous are afforded the kingdom. He prayed: Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am frail. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking.To enter God’s realm this must be our humble prayer: have mercy Lord.  The more he ponders his end he remembers and prays, not for himself, but for others. “May the evil deeds of the wicked come to an end. But make the innocent secure, O righteous God,”

What is your prayer today? Is it all about you or all about God? 

We have just finished the example of the man Job who epitomizes the righteous man. What made Job different than others is that he shines forth as a man who chose not to follow, stand or sit in the counsel of the wicked or unrighteous. How did Job and others like Moses, Abraham, Ruth and others come to be known as the righteous? Psalm 1 tells us they chose to meditate on the counsel of God, His ways and His character. They found pleasure in choosing God’s ways, not man’s. 

The psalmist gives us the picture of a tree and its life span. To grow and flourish they need water, they need sunshine, they need to be planted where they can spread their leaves. This is a picture of men who willingly thirst for the living water, the Light of the gospel, and the Truth of God manifested in the life of Jesus Christ. 

As a result this is the promise God offers: He, the Almighty Lord guards his way of the godly, through all the trials of life and brings him into His presence at death. In contrast, the way of the wicked ends in destruction as we read in Luke 16, a place of torments. 

So as we now enter into the Psalmist’s record of life, it behooves us to choose which path we will follow. Come join us in our journey to the Land of Promise, the Land of Blessing. 

We have read and reread this book that shows us the depth of sadness that Job has experienced. Throughout them all Job had one question: Please God answer me and show me. Not some sweet nothings but real answers to why I am suffering. Been there beloved? Yes, we all have been there. We all want answers but sometimes it is like heaven is closed for business. Now after 37 chapters God opens heaven’s door and offers not answers but more questions. God begins “where were you when…” And that is just where we all find ourselves when the drama and the questions are there heavy and lingering. 

So in these last few chapters God gives us a glimpse of what He did at creation and now present time. Where was I? I was where I am today, sitting and mulling over all that has taken place in my life. And then I respond just like Job: I have declared without understanding things too wonderful for me to know. And you know what, that is enough. For some of us that is the bottom line. When we come to that point, it reveals what God wants us to know: accept by faith all that you do not understand and trust Me saith the Lord. 

One of the things we learn from Christ is His ability to “cut to the chase” or how to be succinct in conversations but Elihu has never mastered that skill. Here’s why….

I don’t know if you ever have had an argument with another and while you think you are right, your words become, how shall we say, boring and lacking empathy. Elihu fits in that category. He is, as my professor once told me, you are loquacious. 

She meant that my words, although sounding to me as correct, she saw as repetitive and not bringing  the argument to a closure with merit. Perhaps you have had a similar situation in your marriage and finally your spouse says to stop because you are repeating yourself with no positive ending. This is what we call ad-nauseam to the hearer. 

Now with that as an introduction, let’s take a look at Elihu’s words. In three chapters he repeats himself to the point of boring and with no positive conclusion. In addition, But when Elihu saw that the three men had no further reply, he became very angry. They had failed to refute Job. They believed they were right and that since Job had failed to repent, God was the only Person who could convince him that he was a sinner. How mighty is Elihu before these aged men who had been speaking. End of Elihu’s so called modesty. He is boastful and full of words and not one is helpful to Job. So after three chapters, Job, and the reader, are exhausted. 

What is the lesson here for us? It is exactly what Wiersbe said yesterday. We are not called to hammer home our right and your wrong, but we are to be kind and sympathetic. Stop and consider the impact of your words on the listener and try to understand the listener’s heart.  

Moses wrote: Deu 29:29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.” What are these secret things? As Job continues his search for why he is suffering, he comes to these conclusions. Job knows, and men do as well, that the earth holds the secrets of wealth and all are hidden ready for man to find, but not so of wisdom. Job concludes that the secret things of wisdom, the fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.  Men study, they write books on this topic but all is lost until they understand that God holds the key and it is that men fear, reverence Him. 

Paul discipled Timothy with this fact: Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work. That is the path to true wisdom. 

Today as you search for wisdom, know that without your choice to fear or reverence God, your search is fruitless. You must start with the Word of God and He will reveal that wisdom that you desire. 

Job’s friend Bildad continues to berate Job for his integrity. He, in essence is saying what you say and how you see yourself is inconsequential. Bildad says, you are on the same level as a maggot. Imagine hearing those words from a friend? Wiersbe is right, with words like this one leaves more discouraged than when this began. 

So how do you respond in situations such as this?  Wiersbe offers this suggestion: “The best way to help discouraged and hurting people is to listen with your heart and not just with your ears. It’s not what they say but why they say it that is important. Let them know that you understand their pain by reflecting back to them in different words just what they say to you.” But, Bildad wants to go down in history as one who knows more. His lack of empathy is striking! 

Job responds: “How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the person who has no strength!” Job is saying, your words reveal that you really have no understanding of what God is doing in this life and life to come. In addition, Job responds: “I will never declare that you three are in the right; until I die, I will not set aside my integrity! I will maintain my righteousness and never let it go;” That is powerful and shows Job’s strength in every area. 

How do you respond when you hear the words of your Bildad who seek to undermine your faith? Are you strong like Job and can respond as he did?

As Job sits with his friends, he begins to ponder the contrast of human life to a tree. Humans are born, live and die never to return again, but you can cut down a tree and it will spring forth again if the needs are met. Instead, man dies and is buried to remain there until the time when God opens the graves and men come forth alive again. The disciple Matthew records a time when this happened but from then until now, it has never ever happened again. “The earth shook and the rocks were split apart. And tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had died were  raised. (They came out of the tombs after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.) Matthew 27. Imagine being there at this point in time! Amazing. This all happened when Christ was crucified and it will happen again! We don’t know when but we have this evidence as given to us from Paul. He talked about this event yet to come. “1Th 4:17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.”

Paul explains the order as how it will come about: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel,and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”

Are you still pondering life and death like Job? You can be sure of life after your death if you know Jesus as your Savior. Call unto Him and He will save you. 

There is a saying, that if this is what your friend looks or acts or speaks like Bildad, you don’t need him to be in your circle of friends. Listen to how he enters the conversation: “Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said: “How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind?” In other words, Job you are like a windbag of words, none of which are worthy. WOW! Talk about how to spear a heart in just one sentence!

However, Job doesn’t respond as a non-friend but with this: “Truly, I know that this is so. But how can a human be just before God? If someone wishes to contend with him, he cannot answer him one time in a thousand.  He is wise in heart and mighty in strength— who has resisted him and remained safe?“ Job knows more about God’s character than Bildad does! 

When you are confronted with accusations such as this do you respond as Job or dig the sword in even deeper? Take the challenge to follow this principle: Proverbs 16:24: “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and healing to the bones.”

As we have been experiencing the life of Job, we have witnessed his decline, his sadness, and his questioning. Enter into that equation is his so-called friend Eliphaz. In some ways Eliphaz is the sword that seeks to add more suffering to one who is already in the pit of despair, wondering the answers to why and why now! Wiersbe was wise in saying “You do not heal a broken heart with logic; you heal a broken heart with love.” Eliphaz seems to know just when and how to insert the sword and we have “friends” who much like that. Smugly Eliphaz says “But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would set forth my case.” The sword digs in deeply as Job sits and listens to this friend of his.

We all face people like Eliphaz who seem to take joy in adding thorns to our pain. Jesus faced that and we do as well. So the question is how do you handle such remarks? Job responds: “For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; my spirit drinks their poison;” At this point, we stop and ask if we too have faced such situations? We can only face them with the grace of God upon our souls.

Beloved, take care that your words do not wound but apply the salve of the loving Savior.

These next chapters introduce us to Elijah the Tishbite and his ministry. By his own words Elijah said: certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve) there would be no rain for a period of time. And it happened just as God said. 

Fast forward, after the brook dried up, God told him to go to a widow in Zarephath and as he went through the city gates there she was! Notice her response when Elijah asked for some food: “As certainly as the Lord your God lives,” not whom I serve but whom you serve. This widow understood something about this hairy man. Somehow, some way, she knew Elijah had a personal relationship with Yahweh. By her own testimony she ascertained that Elijah served the God of Israel but she did not know Him as her personal God. So why did God send Elijah there? Stop and think. This widow was destitute and she needed to be introduced to this God of Israel so He could reveal Himself to her as the God of provision. 

Who is destitute in your sphere of influence and do they know whom you serve? Are you being sent to them so you can be a witness for Him?