Job 39:13-42:9

“I know that you can do all things;
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
³ You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.

⁴ “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.’
⁵ My ears had heard of you
    but now my eyes have seen you.
⁶ Therefore I despise myself
    and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:2-6, NIV)

These words are comforting. God, who can do all things. God, whose purposes cannot be thwarted. And Job, who realizes he doesn’t fully understand the things too wonderful for him to know.

⁷ After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. ⁸ So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” ⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. (Job 42:7-9, NIV, emphasis added)

These words grip me. The Lord directs his attention to Job’s friends with a statement that cuts quick. His friends likely meant well. But they angered the Lord. They didn’t speak the truth about him. He thinks of their actions as folly.

Lord, these scriptures speak of humility. The first, where Job humbles himself before you. The second, where you humble his friends. I am reminded through this of your sovereignty and power. I am cautioned to be careful with my thoughts and words.

Courtney (66books365)

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1 Samuel 25:32-30:10

Had Abigail not intervened, David’s response would have been swift and severe. He recognizes, however, that her intervention was from/by/through God, and he gives praise where it’s due. In one moment, he is stirred to slaughter, but in the next, he exercises great control and submission to God. Two very powerful stances. In the heat of a moment, I wonder, would I choose words and actions rooted in the intensity of the moment or would I relinquish my passions in obedience to the Lord? In this reading, I emphasize God’s sovereignty. He sees a big picture. I see just a fraction.

³² David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. ³³ May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. ³⁴ Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.” (1 Samuel 25:32-34, NIV, emphasis added)

God handles things in the big picture. I can walk away when he calls me elsewhere. I can trust he’s working all things out.

³⁸ About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died. (1 Samuel 25:38, NIV, emphasis added)

David stood over sleeping Saul and exercises restraint through humility. Lord, am I humble to the point of leaving things in your hands? Am I confident in you or myself?

²³ The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. ²⁴ As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble.” (1 Samuel 26:23-24, NIV, emphasis added)

In a time of trouble, Saul consults a medium, to consult the ghost of dead man. And Samuel’s spirit gives all sovereignty, power, and glory to God.

¹⁶ Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? ¹⁷ The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. ¹⁸ Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. ¹⁹ The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 28:16-19, NIV, emphasis added)

In a time of trouble, David holds to the ephod to inquire of the Lord.

⁷ Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, ⁸ and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” (1 Samuel 30:7-8, NIV, emphasis added)

These scriptures are timelessly relevant. Human passion, emotion, and weakness are still the same. And so is my God–still the same. Trustworthy. Sovereign. Mighty. Just.

Father God, I’m thankful that your example shows me over and over again of who you are. My emotions can be fierce and fleeting, based on limited information and charged by my own bias. But you see the full picture, around the world, beginning to end. I pray that I always seek you, rely on you, honor you, and glorify you by word and action. I want to grow to maturity in you, with evidence of your hand and guidance in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Courtney (66books365)

2 Samuel 4,5; 1 Corinthians 15; Ezekiel 13; Psalm 52-54

Kingdom focus. It is knowing there is something greater than what I can see. It is recognizing God’s sovereignty. It is trusting in him.

The wicked will slay an innocent man in his bed (vulnerable, unprepared, unsuspecting, defenseless). But David trusts who will save him.

⁹ But David said to Recab and Baanah, “The Lord, who saves me from all my enemies, is my witness. ¹⁰ Someone once told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ thinking he was bringing me good news. But I seized him and killed him at Ziklag. That’s the reward I gave him for his news! ¹¹ How much more should I reward evil men who have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed? Shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his blood and rid the earth of you?” (2 Samuel 4:9-11, NLT)

Kingdom focus seeks guidance from the Lord.

¹⁹ So David asked the Lord, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”

The Lord replied to David, “Yes, go ahead. I will certainly hand them over to you.”

²⁰ So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. “The Lord did it!” David exclaimed. “He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!” So he named that place Baal-perazim (which means “the Lord who bursts through”). (2 Samuel 5:19-20, NLT)

Kingdom focus, knowing something greater exists beyond what I can see.

⁵⁰ What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. (1 Corinthian 15:50, NLT)

Kingdom focus can face the truth. It doesn’t whitewash or deceive. Kingdom focus is knowing God’s sovereignty.

¹³ “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will sweep away your whitewashed wall with a storm of indignation, with a great flood of anger, and with hailstones of fury. ¹⁴ I will break down your wall right to its foundation, and when it falls, it will crush you. Then you will know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 13:13-14, NLT)

Kingdom focus, trusting God, his love, his faithfulness, his strength, his good name.

⁶ The righteous will see it and be amazed.
    They will laugh and say,
⁷ “Look what happens to mighty warriors
    who do not trust in God.
They trust their wealth instead
    and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”

⁸ But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.
    I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.
⁹ I will praise you forever, O God,
    for what you have done.
I will trust in your good name
    in the presence of your faithful people. (Psalm 52:6-9, NLT)

Lord, you remind me where to put my focus. I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good (Psalm 54:6b, NLT)

Courtney (66books365)

1 Samuel 19; 1 Corinthians 1; Lamentations 4; Psalm 35

When I read these scriptures, there are issues then that still happen today, and I mourn.

I mourn Saul who was given title and responsibility, but whose heart was choked by jealousy, insecurity, anger, pride. God, give me kingdom vision to elevate others and work in unison. I delight in your work, and I value and encourage others. Guard my heart against comparison and resentment.

⁴ The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. ⁵ Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!” (1 Samuel 19:4-5, NLT)

I mourn David who was serving, talented, strong, chosen–and hated for it all. God, an enemy whispers, guilts, shames me to be ineffective, small, afraid. Help me live life freely for your glory, to be who you’ve called me to be, even when faced by a foe who wants to shut me up and take me down.

¹ O Lord, oppose those who oppose me.
    Fight those who fight against me.
² Put on your armor, and take up your shield.
    Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.
³ Lift up your spear and javelin
    against those who pursue me.
Let me hear you say,
    “I will give you victory!”
⁴ Bring shame and disgrace on those trying to kill me;
    turn them back and humiliate those who want to harm me.
⁵ Blow them away like chaff in the wind—
    a wind sent by the angel of the Lord.
⁶ Make their path dark and slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
⁷ I did them no wrong, but they laid a trap for me.
    I did them no wrong, but they dug a pit to catch me.
⁸ So let sudden ruin come upon them!
    Let them be caught in the trap they set for me!
    Let them be destroyed in the pit they dug for me. (Psalm 35:1-8, NLT)

I mourn the before-and-after contrast in Lamentations. When the life one knows is stripped away–who do we become when pressures weight? Lord, when the life I knew is suddenly changed, help me to mature and grow in the season. Challenges show me who I am at heart, and who you are always. May I always seek you.

⁷ Our princes once glowed with health—
    brighter than snow, whiter than milk.
Their faces were as ruddy as rubies,
    their appearance like fine jewels.

⁸ But now their faces are blacker than soot.
    No one recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin sticks to their bones;
    it is as dry and hard as wood. (Lamentations 4:7-8, NLT)

I mourn the splintering of community. Oh, Lord, help me to see beyond the temporary to keep my eyes on the eternal. I bring the narrative to you–show me what is true and right. Divisions are diversions on the path–help me to stay the course, eyes on you.

¹⁰ I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. ¹¹ For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. (1 Corinthians 1:10-11, NLT)

Courtney (66books365)

Ezekiel 10-13; Hebrews 9

“I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile.  I, the Sovereign Lord, will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel again.’ “When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols.  And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them.  I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations.  Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11:16-20 NLT

Lord is Sovereign. I am needing this reminder today and every day.

Only He is responsible for a changed heart. Am I letting him change mine?

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against all your magic charms, which you use to ensare my people like birds.  I will tear them from your arms, setting my people free like birds set free from a cage.  I will tear off the magic veils and save my people from your grasp.  They will no longer be your victims.  Then you will know that I am the Lord.  You have discouraged the righteous with your lies, but I didn’t want them to be sad.  And you have encouraged the wicked by promising them life, even though they continue in their sins.  Because of all this, you will no longer talk of seeing visions that you never saw, nor will you make predictions.  For I will rescue my people from your grasp.  Then you will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 13:20-23 NLT

What am I letting control me? Who am I running to? My mind can be a trap for the enemy.  He knows where I am weak.  But, God is merciful and rescues me every time.  He never gets tired of when I come to him. This song from Cody Carnes comes to mind….”I run to the Father. I fall into grace. I’m done with the hiding. No reason to wait. My heart needs a surgeon. My soul needs a friend. So I’ll run to the Father. Again and again And again And again.”

“For by the power of the eternal spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.  That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them.  For Christ died to set then free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.” Hebrews 9:15&16 NLT

Dear Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit. I want to be after your heart.  Give me eyes to see where I need to change.  Amen.

“He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28 NLT

Amy(amyctanner)