I love my quiet time in the morning when I’m having devotion and my home is completely quiet. It’s easier for me to ask God what He would have me do/share, and for me to stop long enough to hear/read His response.
My devotion this morning started in Job 1. I love the book of Job and how faithful he was. ‘Oh to be like Job’. The Bible walks through how the devil was roaming through the earth, looking for whom he could devour. God actually asked the devil if he had considered his servant Job. Job is described as ‘blameless and upright’. When the first set of attacks of killing almost everyone and everything did nothing to thwart Job’s reverence and praise to God, Satan went back and God once again presented Job. Satan’s response was that because his physical being was not attacked. God gave permission to attack his physical body, but Job’s life should not be taken.
Lesson 1: God sees and knows all. Sometimes we feel like we are being attacked on all sides, but nothing happens without the permission of our Heavenly Father.
After Job’s wife sees his suffering, she tries to convince him that he should curse God and die.
Lesson 2: there will be people in our lives that are well meaning, but will not always give us the right advice. Be careful who you listen to.
When Job’s friends hear of all that has happened to him, they decide to meet up and go visit Job. It wasn’t until they actually saw the state Job was in that they wept aloud, put ashes on their head, and tore their robes. Then when they made their way to him, they sat with him for seven days before anyone spoke.
Lesson 3: sometimes our friends don’t want our advice. Sometimes they simply want us to sit with them as they are going through their difficult times. Notice when the trouble started with Job and his friends – when they started pontificating about what Job could have possibly done wrong in his life to deserve all that had happened. Sometimes it’s more valuable to just let the person know that you are there for them, without offering any advice.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the instruction from your words. We thank you for answered prayers. Lord, help us to be better, more understanding friends. Show us what to do in each situation we are placed in, and help us to always put you first.