Job 16:1-19:29, 1 Corinthians 16:1-24, Psalm 40:1-10, Proverbs 22:1
Today is the 25th day of August, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is wonderful to be here with you today. I … we’re not there, but I’m, we’re within sight of a new month and I can’t believe we’ve performed this month. Like I realize next month, like up north, the leaves start to change everything. That’s not gonna happen down here in the rolling hills of Tennessee. Summer’s still with us but, you just kind of see the passage of time, it’s like wow, day-by-day, step-by-step has led us here and here we are. And the Bible has led us all the way from Genesis to the book of Job in the Old Testament and that’s where we are right now. So, let’s dive in and continue this journey in the book of Job, and the conversations that are taking place between Job and his friends. Today, Job chapters 16 through 19.
Commentary:
Okay, let’s just think about the way that we live for second. I know that’s pretty broad but let’s think about how we react when we face a problem. And we can react emotionally or radically or whatever but what we want when we face a problem is a solution to the problem. And when we’re faced with a question, we want to find the answer to the question. And I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed but questions usually produce other questions that lead to more questions as we drill down into understanding. And at least in my experience, there’ lots of people way, way, way, way, way smarter than me. But in my experience, if we keep following the questions and this can be generally, any topic that there is, if we keep following them all the way, we will find the end of human wisdom on the thing. Which does not mean that there aren’t more questions, it means that we’ve reached the end of all that we know. If we understand that that point is actually where our faith engages, because we don’t need faith for what we already know. Then we can see better what’s going on in the book of Job. Job has questions and he’s asked them all the way to the end of human understanding. He’s asking why he is suffering when he is upright. His friends have given all of the known answers. Job already knows all those answers and they are falling short, he has additional questions that a human being can’t answer. And so, the conversation between Job and his friends has moved from comfort to kind of agitation, to argument, where like insults are being thrown at each other. Because Job’s questions are making Job’s friends very uncomfortable. They’re very agitated. They’re very, very much pushing back against Job, using what they believe that they know about God and His ways and leaning into ancient wisdom. And Job is at the point where he is simply saying that’s not going to work for me in this, I need God. Watching Job’s friends become more and more agitated because they cannot change his mind, they cannot convince him. He is clinging to his integrity, and he is clinging to his pursuit of God. And watching all that’s kind of revealing, because we may have faced these kinds of situations before where we are suffering and we have questions and we are seeking and we are getting platitudes for answers or memory versus or people who are who are correcting us. But as we see with Job, there are limitations there. And even though the comfort or correction or advice may even be good, and it may make us feel good, so often when a person is in suffering these things aren’t answering their questions. We’re…we’re often speaking to our own fears. Job’s cry and lament of the heart and his questions have frustrated and agitated his friends and they’re doing battle now, over who’s going to be right. That’s what this has come to at this point. Who is going to be right now. But Job doesn’t, that’s not the game that he’s playing. He just wants God. And even though he is hoping against hope, he is hoping anyway. If he finds God and God kills him, he will hope in God anyway. Which brings us to another very, very riveting Scripture that reveals in all of this, where Job’s heart still is. And I quote, “as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God. I will see Him for myself. I will see Him with my own eyes.” It’s an overwhelming thought. Let’s hold that in our hearts today as we face the difficulties of life that we may be facing. Let’s meditate upon the posture of Job. He’s telling the truth. He’s arguing in a way that is making his friends uncomfortable but he’s telling the truth. All he wants is God.
Prayer:
And so, Holy Spirit, our…our comforter, we ask once again that You come, as we take these steps forward and contemplating, consider and wrestle with our suffering and the lessons that are to be learned here in the book of Job. Lead us into all truth, lead us to You. You are what we need. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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And that’s it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hi, this is LauriAnne from South Carolina. And I have been living with my brother and sister since my husband Steven passed away in May. And it’s a very unhealthy relationship that I have with my siblings. And I have things that are being taken from me and every dollar that I earn has to be spent towards bills. And I desperately need to move down next door, into my parents home which is empty. And I would just love to have my family, my DAB family behind me praying that all of this would work, that I will have the opportunity to move down to my parents. It’s just a matter of getting my parents house cleaned out and then me moving my things in. And I am at the end of my rope and I don’t have very much hope left. I love Jesus and He is the only reason that I have not went away from this world. And because I believe that’s his choice, not my choice. But I love all you guys. I love the way that you pour life into each other. And I would covet any of your prayers, that you guys would just pray that I can get moved down to my moms house, where I can feel safe and lock the door and turn the alarm system on and know that I’m not gonna be harassed for money of have my things stolen. And I would really appreciate it. This is LaurieAnn from South Carolina. Thank you.
Good day DABers. It’s Richard the Radio Guy in Australia. Normally in _. I seek for your prayers and support around Christian radio in Australia and the West playing out cause there is no helping it play six stations around regional Australia. And it’s to say that it’s a large job is an understatement. You may remember March 2021 asking for some desperate help and God came through. And once again we have some big tasks in front of us. Just asking for your prayers for Christian radio in Australia. God bless you all and thanks Brian and Team for …
This is Julie and Chris from Texas. And we are just calling in to lift up and pray for marriages within our community. Lord, thank you for the blessing of Your presence in our marriages and in our families, Lord. There is so much, so much pressure and stress that’s put on relationships between husband and wife and just in families in general, Lord. The stresses that come through the busyness of life, the pressures of finances and trying to make ends meet, Lord, and Lord, we just pray for Your provision. Both of peace, Your presence Lord, but also just be provision when it comes to finances and bringing wisdom and understanding and how to…how to make everything have the balance that it needs Lord, so that we can, we can thrive, not just survive, Lord. We pray for You to, to touch every part of our lives Lord and but specifically, Lord we call out finances in this time where it seems like with, with school and with bills and all the things that come, there’s just so much to keep up with and it seems like sometimes its just not enough, Lord. But we know that You’re good, that Your blessings overflow, Lord, and we pray for that overflow in the lives of couples and families. In Your name Lord we pray. Amen. Amen.
Hello, Daily Audio Bible family. This is Shantay calling from Port St. Lucie, Florida. And I’m calling today because I’m just, I’m at like a really, really low spot right now. We are just, we are just struggling so very hard with our finances and right now, I am in a Sam’s Club parking lot. My car needs a new battery and if I turn off my car, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it to turn back on. So, it’s a whole back story there, with that. But I need a new battery, I’ve been at my sons school for about two hours trying to get it to start and someone tried to give me a jump, it didn’t work. And then a Sherrif, county Sherrif gave me a jump and it worked. So, I’m able to get to this place, to Sam’s Club now to get a new battery but in order to get the money for it, I’ve had to take out another payday loan and I’ve already taken out several payday loans, via various apps and just different ways of doing it. I’ve been able to do it. We’re just, we’re just in a really bad place financially. And it’s very discouraging and I’ve had to like fight back tears this entire morning. I should just let them just come. But in front of people you know, you don’t wanna keep crying over and over so you try to just calm down. But you know, we’ve had others times like this and you know, we thought that was behind us. I know God will make a way with this as well but it’s very, it’s just hard. This is hard, you know. People go through it from time to time. So anyway …
Gooday my Daily Audio Bible family. This is Aussie James calling from Australia. Yep, I’m back here. I’ve been back a while from my trip to Japan. And God is good. And yup, I’m back into my seminary studies. Back into work. Brother and sisters, just want to give you a word of encouragement about prayer. Because God is not some type of cosmic genie that we ask for wishes, or a cosmic vending machine. No, prayer is not about asking God to change our circumstances or give us things. Prayer is about aligning ourselves with God. And it’s about changing our hearts so that we are in alignment with God’s heart. And that is the essence of prayer. So, I just wanted to give my brothers and sisters that encouragement. And I love you all. Aussie James, signing out. Bye.