“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
JOB 31-32
16“If I have denied the desires of the poor
or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
17if I have kept my bread to myself,
not sharing it with the fatherless—
18but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
and from my birth I guided the widow—
19if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,
or the needy without garments,
20and their hearts did not bless me
for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,
21if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
knowing that I had influence in court,
22then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
let it be broken off at the joint.
23For I dreaded destruction from God,
and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.(31:16-23)
ACTS 13:1-23
9Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10“You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
JOURNAL
Taking personal inventory is a good and necessary step in the journey of following Christ. To go through my actions and see if I have hurt anyone or done something that would have wronged another is good and healthy and keeps me humble. It also has a way of helping me to not take on things that are not my responsibility.
To see Job go through his inventory of actions...weighing each as he searches for possible reasons for his current circumstances is both encouraging and discouraging. For Job never knew the reasons behind his fall and suffering. We as the reader, know it had nothing to do with the wrongs and actually was about all the good he did. We get to see behind the scenes but Job never does. Yet in the end it draws him closer to God.
To understand and know the depth of human darkness is to understand that there are those that will oppose God and anything good. Yet in all honesty it also reveals that I am no innocent bystander. I have erred again and again, yet I am forgiven, redeemed and given all the joys of life. This is God's gift and too often I take it for granted. Too often I see life through the lens of what I don't have, didn't get, or how difficult my circumstance is rather than all the ways I have actually been blessed.
Seeing my life in terms of the blessings fuels me to make the most of this gift, make the most of this day. .
To see Job go through his inventory of actions...weighing each as he searches for possible reasons for his current circumstances is both encouraging and discouraging. For Job never knew the reasons behind his fall and suffering. We as the reader, know it had nothing to do with the wrongs and actually was about all the good he did. We get to see behind the scenes but Job never does. Yet in the end it draws him closer to God.
To understand and know the depth of human darkness is to understand that there are those that will oppose God and anything good. Yet in all honesty it also reveals that I am no innocent bystander. I have erred again and again, yet I am forgiven, redeemed and given all the joys of life. This is God's gift and too often I take it for granted. Too often I see life through the lens of what I don't have, didn't get, or how difficult my circumstance is rather than all the ways I have actually been blessed.
Seeing my life in terms of the blessings fuels me to make the most of this gift, make the most of this day. .
23Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
2 CORINTHIANS 6:3-10
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