I am Wicked
“Wicked people rebel against the light. They refuse to acknowledge
its ways or stay in its path.”
Job 24:13
My Take Aways
Something Old:
I am wicked [guilty of sin; hostile toward G0d] at times in my life. At this season I am openly defiant, boldly challenging His instructions. Thus…I am miserable in a certain area of my life. Zingers do not feel good.
Something New:
light- something that makes things visible
23:3
If only I knew where to find God…
23:12
I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.
I continue to pray I crave God’s Word.
Something to Do:
Receive the Lord’s instructions and set them in my heart. Resist challenging what He requires of me.
2010
Submit, Listen, Store
“Submit to God, and you will have peace. Then things will go well for you. Listen to His instructions and store them in your heart.”
Job 22:21-22
My Take-Aways
Something Old
Job:23:12
“I have not departed from His commands, but treasured His words more than daily food.”
Let me treasure His words more than food. May that satisfy me.
Something New
Job 22:12-13
“God is so great-higher than the heavens, higher than the farthest stars. But you reply, ‘That’s why God can’t see what I am doing!’”
So many times I think God can’t see what I am doing. Silly, huh?
Something to Do
Job 22:21-22
Submit to God. Listen to His instructions. Store His instructions in my heart.
Other translations of Job 22:21-22 (too good not to share)
“Yield now and be at peace with Him; Thereby good will come to you. “Please receiveinstruction from His mouth. And establish His words in your heart.”(NASB)
“Give in to God, come to terms with him and everything will turn out just fine. Let him tell you what to do; take his words to heart.” (The Message)
WOW! Just a quick post for now until I have a chance to do more digging but I really felt I wanted to share something that jumped out at me this morning.
Eliphaz continues to accuse Job of sin as his other friends did as well. Suddenly I remember verses 1:5 When these celebrations ended—sometimes after several days—Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice. Was Job not guilty of the same judgmental attitude as his friends?
I was thinking of this verse again too…but I didn’t see it as being judgmental I guess, but more as showing sacrifice and deep love for his children. He knew and understood God deeply and wanted to do all he could to make sure that his children might experience that closeness as well. I think of it as similar to when I pray daily for the faith of my children to grow. Not that I’m sure this is the right way to read those verses…just how I took them.
I think that remembering this verse made me feel that Job’s friends’ repeated accusations really are baseless, because we know Job was a good man and I was thinking that God would honor his sacrifice on behalf of his children as well…and because God didn’t start this whole thing to punish anything Job did at all! Then again, Job has been making me mad for a few days here too, so I guess I’m on no one’s side in this argument!
I really loved verse 23:12 that Wendy highlighted as well…I was reading it and thinking of what it meant to not depart from the word and to treasure it, and two other words that came to mind in the food analogy were crave and savor. I want to really dig into what it means to crave the Word as I do daily food, and savor it as I would a delicious meal. God’s word is more essential and sweeter to the taste than any food we could ever have! I pray that I truly begin to see and feel that in my heart.